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MEMOIR  OF 
ROBERT,  EARL   NUGENT 


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Q/ioheji,  (barl  a'  Nugent , 
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ROBERT,  EARL  NUGENT 


rFITH   LETTERS,   POEMS,   JXD   APPENDICES 


By 


CLAUD    NUGENT 


WITH    TWELVE    REPRODUCTIONS    FROM    FAMILY    PORTRAITS    BY 

SIR    GODFREY   KXELLER,    SIR   JOSHUA    REYNOLDS, 

GAINSBOROUGH    AND    OTHERS 


HERBERT   S.   STONE   &   CO. 

CHICAGO  &  NEW  YORK 

MDCCCXCVIII 


•      •      •    •    4 


93.AJ  7 


PREFACE 

Int  presenting  a  memoir  of  Robert,  Earl  Nugent,  my  purpose 
is  rather  to  introduce  his  transactions  with  men  whose  names  have 
become  famous  in  historv  than   to  gi\'e  a  biography  of  the  man 
himself.      Let  it  be  said  at  once,  that  he  appears  here  bv  reason 
neither  of  his  virtues  nor  his  faults.     With   the  preponderance  of 
one  over  the  other  I  have  nothing  to  do.     It  would  be  quite  easv  to 
represent  him  as  a  monster  of  profligacy  ;   it  would  not  be  difficult 
to  picture  him  in  the  light  of  a  large-minded,  liberal,  and  judicious 
politician  of  high  statesmanlike  qualities.      He  has  been  virulently 
attacked  both  on  the  moral  and  the  political  side;   but  there  is  con- 
siderable ground   for  suspicion  that   the  onslaught  on  his  morals 
was  prompted  by  a  desire  to  injure  him  as  a  politician.     Walpole's 
invention  of  the  word  "  Nugentize  "  (which,  it  will  be  observed, 
applies  to  the  action  of  the  woman  and  not  of  the  man)   is  a  com- 
pliment  in   so  far  as  it    implies   that    its   object   was  a  person  of 
sufficient  importance  to  be  worthy  of  attack.      Moreover,  it  is  not 
necessary  to  affix  undue  weight  to  the  eulogium  of  Dean  Tucker 
to  recognize  that  the  man  who  represented  Bristol,  then  the  first 
port  in  this  kingdom,  for  twenty  years  without  intermission,  and 
was  the  associate  of  Burke  in   measures  for  the  relief  of  Ireland, 
was  a  living  force  in  the  politics  of  his  time.      I  am  placing  side 
by    side    the   impeachment    of   Lord    Nugent    by    the  man    who 
claimed  to  be  his  natural  son,  and  the   unmeasured  praise  of  the 
churchman  who  owed  his  preferment  to  the  object  of  his  adula- 
tion.     Both  documents  were,  probably,  written  for  electioneering 


285474 


vi  PREFACE 

purposes.  One  frankly  acknowledges  it  to  be  the  case,  and  in  the 
other  the  coincidences  are  too  strong  to  be  resisted.  The  indict- 
ment and  the  apologia,  however,  do  not  meet  on  the  same  plane. 
I  give  them  simply  because  I  believe  that  each  of  them  possesses 
an  interest  of  its  own,  and  with  no  attempt  to  examine  into  the 
truth  of  either,  although  it  appears  to  me  quite  consistent  with  an 
optimism  which  does  not  transcend  the  bounds  of  reason  to  attach 
the  higher  credit  to  the  political  record  as  given  by  Dean  Tucker. 
It  is  in  the  letters  that  I  venture  to  believe  the  main  interest  will 
be  found.  That  is  to  say,  not  in  Nugent  himself  so  much  as  in 
those  brilliant  and  distinguished  men  with  whom  he  was  associated. 
The  mere  mention  of  the  names  of  Pope,  Goldsmith,  Chesterfield, 
Pulteney,  Newcastle,  Dunk  Halifax,  Pitt,  Chatham,  Hardwicke, 
Grenville,  Horace  Walpole,  Lord  John  Hervey,  Henry  Pelham, 
Henry  Fox  (the  father  of  Charles  James),  Wyndham,  not  to  swell 
the  list  any  further,  is  an  indication  that  the  correspondence  is 
likely  to  contain  matter  of  high  interest.  The  speeches,  of  which 
I  give  a  few  as  specimens,  clearly  show,  unless,  indeed,  it  should 
be  contended  that  another  composed  them,  that  he  was  a  man  of 
wide  views  and  deep  political  insight.  That  he  was  garrulous 
and  even  foolish  in  some  of  his  later  public  utterances  does  not 
detract  from  the  force  and  wisdom  of  his  earlier  and  many  of  his 
later  ones.  His  motives  were  attacked,  it  is  true;  but  so  were  the 
motives  of  every  eminent  man  of  his  day.  That  he  was  a  great 
master  of  opportunity,  both  in  matrimony  and  politics,  is  not  to  be 
denied,  but  he  was  not  peculiar  in  that,  notwithstanding  Walpole's 
gibe.  Adventures  are  to  the  adventurer  as  well  as  to  the  adven- 
turous, and  much  of  Nugent's  good  luck  would  not  have  come  to 
him  but  for  his  skill  and  judgment,  allied  to  other  qualities  which 
are  usually  regarded  as  commendable  or  the  reverse,  according  to 
the  success  with  which  they  are  used.  The  history  of  his  mar- 
riages is  a  remarkable  one,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that  "  his  skill  in 
marrying  rich  widows  "  should  have  excited  unfriendly  comment. 
Although  he  cannot  escape  the  reproach  of  fortune-hunting,  it 
must  not  be  forgotten  that  he  was  of  ancient  and  distinguished 
birth,  and  in  possession  of  an  income  of  ^^1500  a  year.  Fortune 
gave  the  occasion  for  the  exercise  of  his  judgment  in  dealing  with 


PREFACE  vii 

the  Prince  of  Wales,  and  although  the  monev  Nugent  lent  the 
latter  was  never  repaid,  the  "  places,  pensions,  and  peerages " 
bestowed  by  George  III.  upon  the  lender  and  his  nominees  made 
the  speculation  an  eminently  lucrative  one.  Thus,  no  doubt,  it 
came  about  that,  on  the  death  of  the  Prince,  Nugent  was  created  a 
Lord  of  the  Treasury  in  Pelham's  administration,  the  first  of  a  long 
series  of  important  offices  under  different  Governments.  Hence 
he  was  not  only  a  person  of  high  consideration  himself,  but  the 
constant  associate  of  the  leading  men  in  the  realm.  It  is  corre- 
spondence with  them  and  with  others  that  I  reproduce  here. 

There  was  also  another  side  to  Robert  Nuo-ent's  character.  He 
was  a  poet,  a  bon  vivant  and  a  wit,  and  this  brought  him  in 
contact  with  some  of  the  brilliant  people  of  the  day.  As  will  be 
seen,  his  powers  as  a  poet  have  been  doubted,  and  his  principal  poetic 
effort,  the  Ode  to  Vulteneij^  ascribed  to  Mallet,  just  as  "  Garth," 
we  are  told,  "  did  not  write  his  own  '  Dispensary.' "  There  is 
nothino;  more,  even  in  Grav's  imputation,  than  mere  suspicion, 
and  it  is  quite  certain  that  his  reputation  as  a  wit  could  not  have 
been  obtained  in  any  such  manner.  Lord  Chesterfield's  opinion 
of  him  in  that  regard  is  clearlv  manifested  in  his  letters  to 
Nuo;ent,  a  fact  which,  with  the  other  contemporary  judgments 
which  I  have  set  out  elsewhere,  will  go  far  to  explain  whv  I  have 
thought  his  correspondence  and  some  anecdotes  worthy  of  a 
separate  place  in  this  memoir. 

C.  N. 


ERRATA 

Page  12,  line  i'^-,for  1760  read  1560 

,,     footnote,  lines  7  and  8,ybr  Sir  George  Hanley  read  Sir  George  Stanley 
,,  ,,  line  11.  for  Henry  VIII.  read  Wtnry  VII. 

48,  line  zz^for  handy  shop  read  brandy  shop 
50,  line  10,  for  easy  invasion  read  easy  evasion 
192,  line  3  of  poem,y&r  Brindon  read  Bindon 
233.  line  2  of  second  letter,ybr  behon  read  before 
249,  footnote, ybr  brother  read  father 
276,  line  7  from  foot, ybr  1882  read  1832 
287,  line  2  of  Duke  of  Wellington's  letter, y&r  Bakerville  read  Baskerville 


CONTENTS 


MEMOIR  ...... 

POEMS        ...... 

LETTERS  ..... 

APPENDICES BIOGRAPHICAL    MEMOIRS 

I.     EDMUND    NUGENT 


F.-M.    SIR    GEORGE    NUGENT 


II.     CHARLES    EDMUND    NUGENT 


III.     ROBERT    NUGENT,    JUNIOR 


INDEX 


PAGE 
I 

97 

195 


271 


272 


290 
345 


LIST    OF    PORTRAITS 


ROBERT,    EARL    NUGENT  .... 

{By  Thomas  Gainsborough) 

MARGARET,    SISTER    OF    EARL    NUGENT  . 

[From  a  Pastel  Drawing) 
GOSFIELD    HALL,    ESSEX  .... 

A    FAMILY    GROUP  ..... 

(B)    Zoffj.n;.) 

LADY    BUCKINGHAM       ..... 

MRS.       KNIGHT,       SECOND       WIFE       OF       LORD 

NUGENT    ...... 

(From  an  Engraving  after  a  Painting  b)  Kneller) 
ELIZABETH,    COUNTESS    OF    BERKLEY 

{From  an  Engraving  after  a  Painting  by  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds) 

ROBERT,    EARL    NUGENT  .  .  .  . 

{From  a  Pastel  Drawing) 

ALEXANDER    POPE  ..... 

ROBERT,    EARL    NUGENT  .... 

{From  an  Engraving  pub  ished  in  1784) 
HORACE    WALPOLE  ..... 

COLONEL  THE  HONOURABLE  EDxMUND   NUGENT 

(£;    Ikomas  Gainsborough) 


Frontispiece 

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272 

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"I   1  , 


MEMOIR    OF    EARL    NUGENT 


CHAPTER    I 


Robert  Nugent  of  Carlanstown,  County  Westmeath,  came  of  an 
ancient  and  distinguished  family,  settled  in  Ireland  since  the  reign 
of  Henry  H.,  when  Sir  Gilbert  de  Nugent  accompanied  Sir  Hugh 
de  Lacy  in  the  expedition  to  Ireland,  in  recompense  for  which  Sir 
Hugh  gave  him  his  sister  Rosa  to  wife,  and  with  her  the  Barony 
of  Delvin.  This  was  some  time  after  1172.  Sir  Gilbert's  sons, 
however,  died  before  him,  the  barony  devolving  upon  his  brother 
Richard,  whose  only  child  and  heiress  carried  the  title  in  11 80  to 
her  husband,  one  John  or  Fitz-John.  The  title  was  restored  to 
the  Nugent  family  more  than  two  hundred  years  later,  when,  in 
1407,  Sir  William  Nugent,  a  collateral  descendant  of  Sir  Gilbert, 
married  the  sole  heiress  of  John  Fitz-John  le  Tuit,  eighth  baron 
Delvin,  and  Sir  William  succeeded  his  father-in-law  as  ninth 
baron,  although  genealogists  often  regard  the  peerage  as  a  new 
creation.  His  eldest  son,  the  tenth  baron,  who  died  about  1460, 
was  Lord-Deputy  of  Ireland  under  the  Earl  of  Ormonde  in  1444, 
and  Richard,  Duke  of  York  in  1449.  In  the  latter  year  he  con- 
vened parliaments  in  Drogheda  and  Dublin.  The  twelfth  baron, 
Richard  Nugent,  like  his  grandfather,  did  the  State  excellent 
service,  which  seems  to  have  been  well  recognized,  and  also,  like 
him,  held  some  of  the  most  honourable  and  responsible  offices  in 
the  realm.  He  signed  the  letter  addressed  by  the  Council  of 
Ireland  to  Wolsey  in  1522,  thanking  him  for  the  care  he  was 
taking  of  Ireland,  and  begging  that  five  or  six  ships  might  be 
sent  to  keep  the  sea  between  them  and  the  Scots,  as  they  were 
afraid  that,  in  consequence  of  the  departure  of  the  Earl  of  Surrey 
and  the  King's  army,  the   Irish  rebels  would  receive   help  from 

B 


\/2/,  /'.  '/.>'/;  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Scotland  and  prove  too  strong.  He  was  more  than  once  Lord- 
Deputy  and  Governor  of  Ireland,  and  his  position  in  the  State  may- 
be approximately  gauged  by  the  fact,  that  when  in  1524  an 
indenture  was  drawn  up  between  the  King  and  the  Earl  of 
Kildare,  the  Earl  promised  not  to  "  procure,  stir,  nor  maintain  any 
war  against  the  Earl  of  Ormond,  the  Baron  of  Delvin,  nor  Sir 
William  D'Arcy."  It  was  from  his  second  son,  Sir  Thomas 
Nugent,  knight,  that  the  subject  of  this  memoir  was  descended. 

Greater  variety  marked  the  fortunes  of  Sir  Christopher,  the 
fourteenth  baron.  He  was  presented  to  the  Queen  when  she 
visited  the  University  of  Cambridge  in  1564,  and  on  coming  of 
age  next  year,  he  went  to  Ireland  with  letters  of  recommendation 
to  the  Lord-Deputy,  Sir  Henry  Sidney,  containing  considerable 
grants  of  land.  In  the  course  of  his  career  he  was  several  times 
suspected  of  disloyalty  to  the  Crown,  and  on  one  occasion  suffered 
imprisonment  for  eighteen  months  during  the  investigation  of  a 
charge  of  complicity  in  the  rebellious  projects  of  Lord  Baltinglas. 
He  was  liberated,  however,  and  in  a  measure  was  restored  to  the 
favour  of  the  Queen,  at  whose  request  and  for  whose  use  he  had 
compiled  A  Vrimer  of  the  Irish  Language.  A  serious  embroil- 
ment with  Chief-Justice  Dillon  again  brought  his  fidelity  into 
disrepute,  although  he  declared  that  his  animosity  against  Dillon 
was  the  result  of  the  latter's  having  done  to  death  Nugent's  uncle, 
Nicholas  Nugent,  a  Chief-Justice  of  the  Irish  Common  Bench, 
who  had  been  hanged  in  1582,  upon  what  there  is  good  reason  to 
believe  was  a  trumped-up  charge  of  rebellion  and  conspiracy  to 
murder  the  two  Dillons,  who  were  respectively  Lord  Chief- 
Justice  of  the  Common  Pleas  and  Lord  Chief  Baron.  At  all 
events,  the  jury  had  acquitted  Sir  Nicholas,  when  the  Dillons 
compelled  them  to  alter  their  verdict,  and  Nugent  was  hanged 
two  days  later.  The  Queen's  opinion  may  be  gathered  from  the 
reversal  of  the  attainder  with  a  re-grant  of  his  estate  to  the  widow, 
a  daughter  of  Sir  John  Plunket,  Lord  Chief-Justice  of  the  Queen's 
Bench,  for  life,  with  remainder  to  her  son  Richard.  Lord  Delvin, 
too,  though  not  until  1593,  ^^^  appointed  leader  of  the  forces  of 
Westmeath  at  the  general  hosting  on  the  Hill  of  Tara,  and  was 
warmly  commended  for  his  zeal  in  the  disturbed  period  which 
preceded  the  rebellion  of  Hugh  O'Neill,  Earl  of  Tyrone,  and  was 
also  the  recipient  of  further  emoluments  and  honours.  In  1600, 
however,  the  severities  of  Tyrone  forced  him  to  submit,  and 
although  he  does  not  appear  to  have  afforded  the  rebels  any  active 
service,  he  was  arrested  on  suspicion,  and  died  in  confinement  in 
1602.  Richard,  the  son  of  the  unfortunate  Nicholas,  who  was 
hanged,  was  a  poet  of  some  note. 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  3 

Another  member  of  the  family,  William,  a  younger  brother  of 
Christopher,  the  fourteenth  Baron  Delvin,  was  an  open  and  avowed 
rebel.  He  had  previously  been  suspected  of  rebellious  sympathies 
on  two  occasions,  and,  as  he  was  expressly  excluded  from  the 
general  pardon  offered  to  the  adherents  of  Lord  Baltinglas,  he 
was  driven  to  take  up  arms  on  his  own  account.  He  gave  the 
authorities  a  great  deal  of  trouble  for  a  little  while,  but  the  rising 
failed  miserably,  and  he  underwent  unspeakable  privations,  in 
which  an  heroic  attempt  by  his  wife  to  succour  him  was  visited 
with  a  year's  imprisonment.  Afterwards  he  escaped  to  Scotland, 
thence  through  France  to  Rome.  Here  and  elsewhere  on  the 
Continent  he  engaged  in  various  intrigues  against  the  English 
Government,  especially  with  regard  to  an  insurrection  to  take 
place  in  Ireland  while  Spain  was  invading  England.  After  many 
romantic  adventures,  he  returned  home,  took  up  his  old  position, 
the  quietude  of  the  remaining  years  of  his  life  being  varied  only 
by  an  attempt  to  pay  off  old  scores  against  Sir  Robert  Dillon,  who 
had  so  malignantly  persecuted  his  family.  In  1591  he  formally 
accused  him  of  maladministration,  and  it  is  generally  admitted 
there  was  strong  presumptive  evidence  of  Dillon's  guilt ;  but  the 
Government  were  in  a  difficult  position,  and  in  1593  ^^^  Robert 
was  pronounced  innocent  of  all  the  accusations  laid  to  his  charge. 
William  Nugent's  youngest  son,  James,  became  Marshal  of  the 
army  of  the  Confederates  and  Governor  of  Finagh,  and  by  his 
rebellion  the  family  estates  were  finally  forfeited. 

Although  the  fourteenth  Baron,  as  we  have  seen,  died  in  prison 
under  a  charge  of  treason,  his  death  was  regarded  as  a  sufficient 
atonement  for  his  offence,  and  his  eldest  son,  Richard,  was  allowed 
to  succeed  to  the  title  without  opposition.  An  unexecuted  grant 
of  lands  to  his  father,  and  confirmed  to  him  by  James  L,  turned 
out  not  to  belong  to  the  Crown,  and  pressure  was  brought  to  bear 
upon  Delvin  to  force  him  to  surrender  them.  Exasperated  at  this 
treatment,  he  unluckily  in  1606  entered  into  a  conspiracy  to  over- 
throw the  Government.  He  appears  to  have  repented  of  the  act 
as  soon  as  he  had  committed  it,  but  shrank  from  disclosing  the 
plot  to  the  Government.  Christopher  St.  Lawrence,  Lord  Howth, 
however,  denounced  the  conspiracy,  and  although  he  was  at  first 
disbelieved,  the  flight  of  Tyrone  and  Tyrconnell  in  1607  awoke 
the  Government  to  the  necessity  of  finding  out  as  much  as  possible. 
Delvin,  who  was  implicated  by  Howth's  revelations,  was  therefore 
inveigled  to  Dublin  and  arrested  ;  but  succeeded  in  making  his 
escape  to  the  Carn  Mountains,  where  he  defied  all  the  efforts  of 
Sir  Richard  Wingfield  to  capture  him.  He  submitted  eventually, 
and  at  Court  his  misconduct  was  entirely  overlooked,  and  orders 


4  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

were  given  for  the  restitution  of  his  property,  together  with  a  grant 
of  certain  lands  in  lieu  of  those  he  had  been  obliged  to  surrender. 
Once  again,  in  1613,  he  incurred  the  displeasure  of  the  Govern- 
ment, and  was  summoned  to  London.  Subsequently,  however,  he 
regained  the  King's  favour,  and  in  1621  was  advanced  to  the  dig- 
nity of  Earl  of  Westmeath.  On  the  outbreak  of  the  rebellion  of 
1 64 1,  he  declined  to  co-operate  with  the  Catholic  nobility  and 
gentry  of  the  Pale.  Being  compelled  to  leave  his  house  at  Clonyn 
about  February  1642,  he  was  being  escorted  to  Dublin,  when  he 
was  attacked  by  the  rebels  near  Athboy.  He  was  in  an  injfirm 
state  of  health,  being,  it  is  said,  blind  and  palsy-stricken,  and  did 
not  long  survive  the  injuries  he  then  received. 

Richard,  the  second  Earl,  was  chiefly  noted  for  his  adherence  to 
the  Royalist  cause.  He  succeeded  on  the  death  of  his  grandfather 
in  1642.  He  raised  a  troop  of  horse,  and  a  regiment  of  horse  for 
the  King's  service,  and  was  taken  prisoner  at  the  Battle  of  Dangan 
Hill,  but  subsequently  exchanged  for  the  Earl  of  Montgomery. 
He  was  created  a  Field-Marshal  by  the  Supreme  Council,  co- 
operated with  the  Earl  of  Clanricarde  after  Ormonde's  withdrawal 
to  France,  and  in  1650  was  appointed  General  of  all  the  Forces  in 
Leinster.  On  submission  to  the  Commissioners  of  the  Parliament, 
on  conditions  known  as  the  Articles  of  Kilkenny,  he  was  granted 
permission  under  them  to  raise  soldiers  for  service  in  Spain,  although 
he  was  excluded  from  pardon  for  life  and  estate.  With  the 
Restoration  he  recovered  his  liberty  and  estates,  but  withdrew  from 
politics,  and  died  in  1684.  It  is  curious  to  note  that  his  daughter 
Anne  married  Lucas,  sixth  Viscount  Dillon,  a  kinsman  of  one 
of  the  Dillons  who  had  succeeded  in  hanging  Nicholas  Nugent, 
and  generally  persecuted  the  family. 

The  eldest  son  of  the  second  Earl,  Christopher,  Lord  Delvin, 
died  in  the  lifetime  of  his  father,  and  the  title  devolved  on  three 
of  his  sons  in  succession. 

Another  son  of  the  second  Earl,  Thomas  Nugent,  the  lineal 
ancestor  of  the  present  Earls  of  Westmeath,  became  Chief-Justice 
of  Ireland  and  titular  Baron  of  Riverston.  He  seems,  although 
by  no  means  a  great  lawyer,  to  have  made  himself  very  useful  to 
James  II.  Henry  Hyde,  the  second  Earl  Clarendon,  who  had 
treated  him  as  a  representative  of  the  Irish  Roman  Catholics, 
speaks  of  him  as  "  a  man  of  birth  indeed,  but  no  lawyer,  and  so 
will  do  no  harm  upon  the  account  of  his  learning."  Clarendon 
also  relates  of  him,  that  on  taking  his  seat  he  had  a  wrangle 
with  another  judge  about  precedence,  "  as  brisk  as  if  it  had  been 
between  two  women."  Promotion  came  rapidly  to  him.  From 
being  a  judge  of  the  King's   Bench   in   1685-6,   he  was  sworn 


MEMOIR    OF   EARL   NUGENT  5 

of  the  Privy  Council  in  May  1687,  and  in  October  of  the  same 
year  became  Lord  Chief-Justice.  His  court  was  occupied  in 
reversing  the  outlawries  which  pressed  on  his  own  co-religionists, 
and  generally  in  depressing  the  Protestants.  His  methods  of  doing 
this  were  many  and  various.  One  of  his  first  acts  was  to  present 
the  Lord-Lieutenant  with  a  packed  list  of  sheriffs.  He  revived  an 
act  of  Henry  VH.,  forbidding  the  keeping  of  guns  without  licence, 
and  interpreted  it  so  as  to  deprive  the  Protestants  of  their  arms, 
and  thus  leave  them  at  the  mercy  of  the  rapparees,  for  Catholics 
were  not  disarmed.  Among  other  precious  utterances  of  Nugent's 
was  one,  that  robbery  of  the  Protestants  was  unfortunately  neces- 
sary for  the  furtherance  of  King  James's  policy.  His  demeanour 
on  the  Bench  was  far  from  dignified,  and  we  are  told  that  in  a 
charge  to  a  Dublin  Grand  Jury,  he  expressed  a  hope  that  William's 
followers  would  soon  be  "  hung  up  all  over  England  "  in  "  bunches 
like  a  rope  of  onions."  He  took  part,  with  Chief  Baron  Rice,  in 
the  measures  for  the  repeal  of  the  Act  of  Settlement,  and  intro- 
duced a  Bill  in  the  House  of  Peers  for  the  purpose.  He  was  finally 
outlawed  as  a  rebel,  but  his  family  retained  the  lands.  He  died  in 
1 715,  and  the  title  of  Riverston,  though  void  in  law,  was  borne  by 
his  descendants  until  it  mero-ed  in  the  Earldom  of  Westmeath. 

Richard,  who  became  third  Earl,  entered  a  reli2;ious  house  in 
France,  and  died  there  in  17 14.  Thomas,  the  fourth  Earl,  had  been 
called  by  James  H.  to  the  House  of  Peers  in  Dublin  while  under 
a2:e  and  durino;  the  lifetime  of  his  brother.  He  lived  to  the  2:reat 
age  of  ninety-six.  His  name  is  chiefly  connected  with  the  Battle  of 
the  Boyne  and  the  sieges  of  Limerick,  where  he  served  with  King 
James's  army.  Story  mentions  him  as  one  of  those  officers  who  left 
the  horse  camp  outside  Limerick  on  September  25,  1 69 1,  during  the 
cessation  of  hostilities,  and  dined  with  Ginkel  while  on  their  way 
into  the  city.  On  the  following  day  he  was  sent  into  the  English 
camp  as  one  of  the  hostages  for  the  observance  of  the  articles  of  the 
capitulation.  On  December  2,  1697,  Viscount  Massareene  re- 
ported from  the  committee  appointed  to  inspect  the  journals  that 
"  Thomas,  Earl  of  Westmeath,  was  indicted  and  outlawed  May 
II,  3  William  and  Mary  (1691),  but  hath  since  reversed  his  out- 
lawry." He  died  in  1752,  and  the  title,  failing  male  surviving 
issue,  passed  to  his  younger  brother  John,  who  thus  became  fifth 
Earl.  He  also  was  present  at  the  Battle  of  the  Boyne  and  at 
Limerick  as  cadet  in  the  Horse  Guards  of  James  H.,  but  in  1691 
withdrew,  with  the  bulk  of  his  Irish  swordsmen,  to  France,  and, 
beginning  by  serving  as  lieutenant  to  the  mestre-de-camp  of  the 
King's  regiment  of  Irish  horse,  embarked  on  a  brilliant  and  varied 
militant  career,  in  the  course  of  which  he  fought  under  the  French 


6  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

standard  at  RamilHes,  Oudenarde,  and  Malplaquet.  He  quitted 
the  French  service  in  1748,  being  then  a  mar^chal-de-camp^  or 
Major- General,  and  succeeded  his  brother  Thomas  in  1752.  He 
died  in  retirement  at  Nivelles  in  Brabant  in  1754,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  son  Thomas,  the  sixth  Earl  of  Westmeath,  who 
conformed  to  the  established  religion,  being  the  first  Protestant 
peer  of  his  house. 

There  were  other  Nugents  of  the  same  stock  whom  I  have  not 
mentioned,  although  they  were  men  of  notable  ability,  courage, 
and  distinction.  Especially  the  contributions  of  this  family  to  the 
French  and  other  continental  armies  have  been  rich  and  generous. 
My  object,  it  will  readily  be  understood,  in  giving  this  brief 
historical  sketch  of  the  house  of  Nugent,  is  to  draw  attention  to 
the  fact,  that  although  it  cannot  be  denied  that  the  subject  of  this 
memoir  has  been  justly  described  as  an  adventurer,  his  birth  was 
such  as  to  entitle  him  to  the  highest  social  rank. 

Robert  Nugent's  descent  was,  as  I  have  said,  from  Sir  Thomas 
Nugent,  Knight,  the  second  son  of  the  twelfth  Baron  Delvin. 
Nugent's  father  was  Colonel  Michael  Nugent  of  Carlanstown, 
County  Westmeath,  where  Robert  was  born,  his  mother  being 
Mary,  youngest  daughter  of  Robert  Barnewall,  ninth  Baron 
Trimleston.  There  were  four  children  of  the  marriage,  Robert, 
the  eldest;  Edmund,  who  died  unmarried  in  1760  ;  Mary,  who 
was  married  in  1748  to  Henry  Brown;  and  Margaret,  or  Peggy, 
as  she  was  familiarly  called,  who  died  unmarried. 

Some  uncertainty  exists  as  to  the  date  of  Robert's  birth.  Two 
dates  are  given — 1702  and  1709.  I  am  strongly  inclined  to  favour 
the  former  date,  for  two  reasons.  One  is,  that  had  he  not  been 
born  until  1709,  he  would  have  been  but  twenty-one  years  of  age 
at  the  time  of  his  first  marriage,  and  even  younger  when  he 
entered  the  family  of  the  Earl  of  Fingall  as  tutor  to  his  son,  not 
an  impossible,  but  an  unlikely  age.  My  second  reason  is,  that 
very  late  in  life  he  was  referred  to  as  the  Nestor  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  a  title  which  could  only  rightly  be  bestowed  upon  him 
on  the  supposition  that  he  was  born  at  the  earlier  date,  since  there 
were  several  members  living  born  prior  to  1709. 

Nugent  was  educated  at  Fagan's  Academy  in  Ware  Tavern 
Street,  Dublin,  and  his  holidays  were  spent  at  Carlanstown,  his 
father's  estate,  standing  four  and  a  half  miles  north  by  west  of 
CastlepoUard,  among  the  hills  of  Mullachmeen  and  Mullachmore, 
which  stretch  toward  Lough  Sheelin  and  form  a  strong  relief  to  a 
bleak  and  boggy  expanse  of  flat  ground.  During  this  period  of 
his  life  he  saw  much  of  and  became  very  intimate  with  the  family 
of  his  uncle,  Christopher  Nugent  of  Donore,  and  was  a  constant 


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MARGARET,   SISTER   OF   EARL   NUGENT 
From  a  Pastel  Dra^ving  iti  the  possession  o/ Sir  Francis  Boileaic 


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MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  7 

visitor  at  his  house,  which  was  a  handsome  Grecian  edifice 
beautifully  situated  on  the  south  side  of  Lough  Dereveragh.  His 
cousin  Clare,  at  the  time  when  he  first  became  acquainted  with 
her,  was  "  esteemed  scarcely  inferior  to  any  in  the  kingdom  for 
personal  beauty,  and  liberally  endowed  by  nature  with  every 
qualification  capable  of  adding  lustre  to  the  fair  sex  ;"  and  being 
not  twenty  years  of  age,  could  not  fail  to  attract  the  notice  of  all 
the  youth  of  the  neighbourhood,  in  consequence  of  which  several 
advantageous  offers  were  made,  but  none  were  accepted.  Among 
the  crowd  of  lovers  enlisted  under  the  fair  one's  standard  was 
young  Robert,  who,  to  put  so  painful  and  discreditable  a  matter  as 
briefly  as  possible,  succeeded,  in  spite  of  the  dictates  of  honour 
and  the  ties  of  blood  and  friendship,  in  overcoming  his  cousin's 
virtue.  The  intrigue  could  not  long  be  hid  from  the  parents  of 
the  unfortunate  girl,  and  her  state  becoming  evident,  Robert  was 
forced  to  shelter  himself  from  the  just  anger  of  his  relations  by 
absconding  for  some  time  to  Dublin.  Here  one  of  his  cousins 
tracked  him  out,  and  a  duel  ensued,  which  might  have  proved 
fatal  to  one  of  the  parties  had  it  not  been  for  the  interposition  of 

Lord ,  a  near  relation,  and  an  equal  friend  to  both,  by  whose 

means  Robert  agreed  to  repair  the  breach  he  had  made,  and  re- 
unite the  two  families  by  an  honourable  alliance  with  the  fair 
penitent,  whose  fortune  was  to  be  five  thousand  pounds.  He  appears 
to  have  had  no  intention,  however,  of  carrying  out  his  promises,  and 
in  a  few  days  he  left  the  kingdom  hastily  and  retired  to  London. 

So  great  was  the  grief  and  consternation  of  the  disconsolate 
Clare  at  this  unwelcome  news,  that  it  was  very  near  proving  a 
fatal  stroke  to  her,  and  probably  would  have  proved  so,  had  it  not 
been  for  the  tenderness  and  care  which  she  met  with  at  the  hands 
of  her  cousins  Mary  and  Peggy,  who  endeavoured  to  lighten  her 
heavy  burden  of  disappointment  and  dishonour.  Clare  remained 
with  them  for  some  months,  until  distress  and  anxiety  so  preyed 
upon  her  mind,  that  she  came  to  the  determination  of  privately 
making  her  way  to  London  in  pursuit  of  the  yet  too  much 
beloved  author  of  her  misfortunes.  Accordingly,  attended  by  her 
Confessor,  Father  Lynch,  and  a  female  servant,  she  made  her 
escape  from  her  cousins,  and  reached  London  in  safety.  It  was 
not  long  before  she  found  out  Robert's  hiding-place,  and  soon 
made  him  acquainted  with  her  being  in  town  ;  but  to  her  sur- 
prise and  mortification  she  found  herself  disregarded  in  the  most 
contemptuous  manner,  and  her  letters  taken  no  notice  of,  although 
she  was  too  well  assured  of  their  being  delivered  into  his  own 
hands.  Despair  and  distress  now  surrounded  her,  till  she  was 
reduced  so  low  as  to  be  under  the  necessity  of  pledging  her  watch 


8  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

and  the  few  jewels  she  had  with  her  to  defray  the  expenses  con- 
sequent on  her  accouchement.  In  this  dismal  situation,  without 
parent,  husband,  or  friend  to  comfort  her,  a  boy  was  born  in  the 
parish  of  St.  George's,  Hanover  Square,  in  the  beginning  of  the 
year  1730. 

When  she  had  far  enough  recovered  her  strength  to  do  so,  she 
sought  out  a  relative  residing  in  London,  who  supported  her  both 
by  money  and  the  most  friendly  advice,  and  not  only  persuaded 
her  to  return  to  Ireland,  but  paved  the  way  for  her  proper 
reception  by  her  family,  by  whom  she  was  welcomed  with  great 
affection. 

Although  Clare  was  fully  pardoned,  her  sin  was  visited  upon 
her  unfortunate  child,  whom  it  was  esteemed  improper  to  keep  in 
his  family.  He  was  put  to  nurse,  therefore,  at  a  small  village 
called  Castle  Pollard  some  miles  from  Donore,  where  no  other 
notice  was  taken  of  him  beyond  recompensing  from  time  to  time 
the  poor  woman  who  had  charge  of  him  for  her  trouble.  When 
he  reached  the  age  of  three,  he  was  entrusted  to  the  care  of  Lynch, 
the  Roman  Catholic  priest  who  had  attended  Clare  in  her  journey 
to  London,  and  with  him  remained  for  a  few  years  in  Galway, 
Lynch  being  paid  by  Robert  Nugent  ten  pounds  a  year  for  the 
boy's  board,  lodging,  and  tuition. 

Nugent  had  meanwhile  married.  Of  the  circumstances  under 
which  he  is  supposed  to  have  become  tutor  in  the  family  of  the 
Earl  of  Fingall  (Peter,  the  fourth  Earl)  we  have  no  record.  All 
that  is  known  is,  that  on  July  14,  1730,  he  married  Lady  Emilia 
Plunkett,  the  Earl's  second  daughter,  whom  he  lost  a  year  after, 
August  16,  1 73 1,  in  childbed.  The  son,  who  became  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Edmund  Nugent,  did  not  survive  his  father.  His  two 
sons,  Charles  Edmund  and  George,  whose  achievements  are 
chronicled  separately,  won  the  highest  distinctions  which  the 
navy  and  army  respectively  could  afford ;  but,  unfortunately, 
under  circumstances  whose  obscurity  I  have  been  unable  to  pene- 
trate, they  were  not  legitimately  born,  with  the  result  that  they 
were  unable  to  inherit  the  titles  which  otherwise  would  have 
descended  upon  one  of  them  from  their  grandfather.  Lady  Emilia 
was  by  no  means  ignorant  of  her  husband's  previous  conduct,  and 
upon  her  bed  of  sickness,  touched  with  a  deep  sense  of  Clare's 
misfortunes,  laid  her  dying  injunctions  upon  Robert  to  repair  as 
soon  as  decency  would  permit  the  injuries  he  had  caused,  and  to 
do  that  justice  to  himself  and  family  that  he  had  so  long  dis- 
regarded. Nugent  therefore  wrote  to  Clare  a  letter  expressing 
his  deep  regret  for  the  misery  and  sorrow  of  which  he  had  been 
the  author,  and  stating  that  he  was  now  quite  prepared  to  offer 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  9 

the  utmost  satisfaction  he  was  capable  of  giving.  He  followed 
the  letter  immediately  from  Dublin,  and  drove  to  Donore  House, 
with  a  fixed  resolution  of  fulfilling  his  promise  ;  but  on  reaching 
his  destination  he  was  received  only  by  his  uncle's  footman,  who 
expressed  the  due  regards  of  the  house  for  the  honour  he  intended 
them,  informing  him,  however,  that  the  following  evening  had 
for  some  time  been  fixed  for  Clare's  wedding  with  Mr.  O'Byrne,  a 
neighbouring  gentleman  of  considerable  fortune  and  high  character. 

On  March  23,  1736,  Nugent  married  Anne,  the  daughter  of 
James  Craggs,  the  Postmaster-General,  and  sister  of  Secretary 
Craggs,  Pope's  and  Addison's  intimate  friend,  who  were  both  so 
deeply  involved  in  the  South  Sea  scheme  ;  the  Postmaster-General 
having  been  proved  by  the  Committee  of  Secrecy  appointed  to 
inquire  into  the  management  of  the  Company,  to  have  received 
from  the  directors  a  bribe  of  ^40,000  stock.  He  died  in  a 
lethargic  fit  on  the  night  before  the  Secret  Committee  was  to  re- 
port to  the  House  of  Commons  on  his  case,  and  as  it  was  discovered 
that  he  had  realized  no  less  a  sum  than  ^69,000  by  his  transac- 
tions in  the  South  Sea,  the  rumour  was  not  unnaturally  spread 
abroad  that  he  had  taken  poison  to  avert  public  disgrace. 

Secretary  Craggs  was  not  convicted  of  actual  fraud,  and  Pope, 
one  of  his  staunchest  friends,  ardently  maintained  his  innocence. 
"  There  never  lived,"  he  wrote,  "  a  more  worthy  nature,  a  more 
disinterested  mind,  a  more  open  and  friendly  temper,  than  Mr. 
Craggs.  A  little  time,  I  doubt  not,  will  clear  up  a  character 
which  the  world  will  learn  to  value  and  admire  when  it  has  none 
such  remainins:  in  it."  ^ 

Two  years  later,  however,  he  died  of  smallpox,  being  then  in 
the  thirty-sixth  year  of  his  age.^ 

^  It  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  insert  the  following  amusing  dialogue 
which  is  said  to  have  taken  place  between  Pope  and  Secretary  Craggs — 

Pope.  *'  Since  my  old  friend  is  grown  so  great 
As  to  be  minister  of  State, 
I'm  told,  but  'tis  not  true,  I  hope. 
That  Craggs  will  be  ashamed  of  Pope." 

Craggs.  "  Alas  !  if  I  am  such  a  creature 

To  grow  the  worse  for  growing  greater. 
Why,  faith,  in  spite  of  all  my  brags, 
'Tis  Pope  must  be  ashamed  of  Craggs." 

2  Pope's  opinion  of  the  firm  integrity  and  undeviating  rectitude  of 
the  conduct  of  Secretary  Craggs  is  well  expressed  in  his  epitaph 
on  his  tomb  in  Westminster  Abbey — 


10  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Aiinc  Craggs  had  first  married,  in  1712,  John  Ncwsliam  of 
Chadshiint  in  Warwickshire,  by  whom  she  liad  one  son  only. 
Her  second  husband  was  John  Knight,  M.l\  successively  for 
St.  Germains  and  Sudbury,  by  whom  also  she  had  one  son  only, 
who  died  in  1727.  John  Knight,  her  second  husband,  died  in 
1733,  bequeathing  to  her  all  his  estates,  including  the  beautiful 
seat  of  Gosfield  Ilall  in  Essex,  and  a  very  considerable  sum  of 
money.  She  also  shared  with  her  two  sisters,  Mrs.  Trefusis  and 
Mrs.  Eliot,  her  father's  fortune,  which  was  in  itself  ample  enough, 
although  the  executors  were  compellcil  by  Act  of  Parliament  to 
refund  the  ^69,000  which  he  had  realized  by  his  transactions 
with  the  South  Sea  Company.  She  also  shared  with  her  sisters 
the  fortune  of  her  brother,  the  Secretary.  Nugent  is  said  to  have 
received  with  her  ^100,000  in  money  and  estates,  in  addition  to 
the  seat  for  St.  Mawe's ;  Nugent's  own  fortune,  it  is  stated, 
amounting  to  ^^1500  a  year. 

'I\)  his  marriage  with  this  "fat  and  ugly  dame"  (whose  name 
he  took,  in  addition  to  liis  own,  and  who  was  live  years  his  senior) 
Nugent  oweil  his  first  real  advancement  in  life,  for  her  great 
wealth  placed  him  in  an  influential  position  at  as  early  an  age  as 
thirty-four,  and  obtained  for  him  a  seat  in  Parliament  for  St. 
Mawe's  in  Cornwall.  He  took  the  name  of  Craggs  as  a  prefix  to 
that  of  Nuo-ent. 

The  marriatxe  seems  to  have  excited  some  amusement  in  social 
circles.  The  bride  was  something  of  an  oddity,  and  was  the 
subject  of  a  good  deal  of  not  entirely  good-natured  laughter.  For 
instance,  we  find  Mrs.  Anne  Granville,  afterwards  Mrs.  Delany, 
writing  on  May  6,  1737,  to  Mrs.  Catherine  Collingwood  at 
15ath — "There  have  been  weddings  without  number  this  spring, 
but  none  so  much  talked  of  as  Mrs.  Knight's,  who  is  most  ridiculous. 
She  says  that  ',s7/r  mul  Mr.  Ni/gcn/  have  been  in  the  eounlry 
attended  on/i/  bij  the  I'oi/  C///)id.'  I  could  tell  you  many  more  of 
her  I'on  7nots^  but  fancy  you  have  enough  of  them." 

Gosfield  Hall,  though  greatly  altered,  presents  an  interesting 
specimen  of  the  domestic  architecture  that  prevailed  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  residences  of  the  nobility  during  the  reign  of 
Henry   VH.,  who   still   enforced    the  ancient   prerogative  of   the 


"Statesman,  yet  friend,  to  truth,  of  soul  sincere. 
In  action  laithful  and  in  honour  clear, 
Who  broke  no  promise,  serv'd  no  private  end, 
Who  gain'd  no  title  and  who  lost  no  friend. 
A  noble  by  himself  by  all  api)r()v'd, 
Prais'd,  wept,  and  honour'd  by  the  Muse  he  lov'd." 


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MEMOIR   OF  EARL   NUGENT  ii 

,  Crown  in  prohibiting  his  subjects  from  erecting  castles ;  yet  here, 
as  in  other  cases  where  the  restraints  of  the  law  proved  an  in- 
sufficient security  against  the  violence  of  the  times,  its  provisions 
were  evaded,  and  the  houses  erected  at  that  period,  though  not 
coming  into  the  description  of  fortresses,  were  as  strong  and  well 
secured  as  many  of  the  baronial  castles.  This  building  was  a 
large  pile  of  brick,  enclosing  a  quadrangular  court,  into  which  all 
the  lower  tier  of  windows  opened,  which  were  strongly  barricaded, 
so  that  no  admittance  could  be  forced  but  with  great  difficulty. 
The  house,  as  originally  built,  consisted  of  only  one  room  in 
thickness,  and  consequently  there  was  no  other  communication 
round  the  inside  but  by  passing  through  every  room.  The  first 
floor  was  occupied  by  a  gallery  one  hundred  and  six  feet  in 
length  and  twelve  in  width.  This  gallery  is  called  Queen 
Elizabeth's,  in  commemoration  of  her  having  twice  visited  Gosfield. 
Horace  Walpole  has  given  a  good  description  of  the  house  in 
his  letter  of  July  25,  1748,  to  George  Montagu,  Esq.,  shortly  after 
a  visit  there,  in  which  he  writes — "  I  suppose  you  have  heard  much 
of  Gosfield,  Nugent's  seat.  It  is  extremely  in  fashion,  but  did  not 
answer  to  me,  though  there  are  fine  things  about  it ;  but  being 
situated  in  a  country  that  is  quite  blocked  up  with  hills  upon 
hills,  and  even  too  much  wood,  it  has  not  an  inch  of  prospect. 
The  park  is  to  be  1600  acres,  and  is  bounded  by  a  wood  of 
five  miles  round,  and  the  lake,  which  is  very  beautiful,  is  of 
seventy  acres,^  directly  in  a  line  with  the  house  at  the  bottom 
of  a  fine  lawn,  and  broke  with  very  pretty  groves  that  fall 
down  and  slope  into  it.  The  house  is  vast,  built  round  a  very 
old  court  that  has  never  been  fine  ;  the  old  windows  and  gate- 
way left,  and  the  old  gallery,  which  is  a  bad  narrow  room,  and 
hung  with  all  the  late  patriots,  but  so  ill  done  that  they  look 
like  caricatures  done  to  expose  them,  since  they  have  so  much 
disgraced  the  virtues  they  pretended  to.  The  rest  of  the  house 
is  all  modernized,  but  in  patches,  and  in  the  bad  taste  that  came 
between  the  charming  venerable  Gothic  and  pure  architecture. 
There  is  a  great  deal  of  good  furniture,  but  no  one  room 
very  fine :  no  tolerable  pictures.  Her  dressing-room  is  very 
pretty,  and  furnished  with  white  damask,  china,  japan,  loads  of 
easy  chairs,  bad  pictures,  and  some  pretty  enamels.  But  what 
charmed  me  more  than  all  I  had  seen,  is  the  library  chimney, 
which  has  existed  from  the  foundation  of  the  house  ;  over  it  is 
an  alto-relievo  in  wood,  far   from  being  ill  done,  of  the  battle  of 

^  This  was  subsequently  enlarged  by  Lord  Nugent  to  the  extent  of 
one  hundred  and  two  acres. 


12  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Bosworth  Field.  It  is  all  white  except  the  helmets  and  trap- 
pings, which  are  gilt,  and  the  shields,  which  are  properly- 
blazoned  with  the  arms  of  all  the  chiefs  ^  engaged.  You  would 
adore  it." 

Most  of  the  family  portraits  were  hung  in  a  suite  of  rooms 
called  the  Green  Velvet  Apartments  :  among  them  were  those 
of  Robert  Nugent  himself  by  Gainsborough  (our  Frontispiece), 
and  of  James  Craggs,  Postmaster-General,  of  the  Rt.  Hon. 
James  Craggs,  Secretary  of  State,  of  Mrs.  Craggs,  his  mother, 
sister  of  Major-General  Richards,  and  of  Major-General  Richards. 

At  a  short  distance  from  the  hall  to  the  east  is  the  village 
church,  in  which  is  a  small  chapel  or  chantry,  built  by  Thomas 
Rolfe,  Esq.,  and  repaired  in  1760  by  Sir  John  Wentworth,  as  a 
burial  place  for  his  family.  Adjoining  the  chantry  is  a  private 
chapel,  in  which  is  a  marble  monument  to  the  memory  of  John 
Knight,  Esq.,  who  died  in  1733,  at  the  age  of  fifty.  This 
monument  was  executed  by  Scheemaker  under  the  direction  of 
Pope,  who  also  wrote  the  epitaph  as  follows  : — 

*'  O  fairest  pattern  to  a  falling  age. 
Whose  public  virtue  knew  no  party  rage  j 
Whose  private  name  all  titles  recommend, 
The  pious  son,  fond  husband,  faithful  friend. 
In  manners  plain,  in  sense  alone  refin'd^ 
Good  without  show,  and  without  weakness  kind  : 
To  reason's  equal  dictates  ever  true ; 
Calm  to  resolve,  and  constant  to  pursue  : 
In  life  with  ev'ry  social  grace  adorn'dj 
In  death  by  Friendship,  Honour,  Virtue,  mourn'd !  " 

^  This  striking  piece  of  work,  which  represents  the  memorable 
battle  of  Bosworth  Field,  between  Richard  III.  and  the  Earl  of  Rich- 
mond, contains  twenty-four  figures  on  horseback,  with  the  King  lying 
prostrate  under  his  own  charger.  Most  of  the  personages  introduced 
are  known  by  the  armorial  bearings  on  the  shields.  Among  others  are  : 
the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  Earls  of  Surrey  and  Northumberland,  Sir 
Walter  Blount,  Sir  William  Herbert,  Lord  Stanley,  Sir  George 
Hanley,  Sir  William  Brandon,  Lord  Edward  Stafford,  Sir  Gilbert 
Talbot,  Sir  R.  Ratcliffe,  Sir  I.  Tyrrell,  Edward  Lord  Lovel,  and  the 
Earl  of  Oxford.  At  the  extremities  of  the  chimney-piece  are  small 
statues  of  Henry  VIII.  and  his  queen,  exactly  resembling  those  on  the 
monument  at  Westminster  Abbey.  The  date  of  this  sculpture  is  un- 
certain, but  it  is  known  to  be  of  considerable  antiquity,  it  having  been 
removed  in  the  year  1687  from  Bois  Hall,  a  small  house  belonging  to 
the  Earls  of  Oxford,  one  of  whom  was  a  partisan  of  the  Earl  of 
Richmond. 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  13 

On  the  pedestal  are  short  inscriptions  in  Latin  in  memory 
of  Robert,  Earl  Nugent,  Lieut.- Col.  Edmund  Nugent,  his  son, 
Margaret  Nugent,  his  sister,  and  Anne  Craggs. 

Nugent's  second  marriage  was  certainly  an  unfortunate  one. 
His  wife  was  five  years  older  than  himself,  and,  though  she 
brought  him  great  wealth,  she  bore  him  no  children,  nor  did 
she  contribute  greatly  to  his  personal  happiness.  They  were 
both  possessed  of  hasty  tempers,  and  were  continually  quarrelling 
in  private,  though  in  public  they  appeared  to  be  the  best  of 
friends.  Mrs.  Nugent  seems  to  have  been  quite  a  character,  and 
many  amusing  incidents  relating  to  her  lie  scattered  over  the 
pages  of  Walpole.  She  was  worse  than  plain  ;  she  is  described  as 
"  very  ugly,"  and  she  was  enormously  fat.  Horace  Walpole  nar- 
rates how  that  the  chairmen  who  were  to  drive  two  pigs  to  Park 
Place  (of  such  proportions  that  he  likens  them  to  Ziechi  Miechi, 
the  Chinese  God  of  good  eating  and  drinking),  got  drunk  on  the 
way,  and  in  excuse  for  the  delay  declared  that  the  creatures  got 
unruly,  ran  away,  and  would  not  be  managed.  "  Do  but  think 
of  their  running  !  "  says  Walpole  ;  "  it  puts  me  in  mind  of  Mrs. 
Nugent's  talking  of  ]ust  jumping  out  of  a  coach  !  " 

Mrs.  Nugent  was  very  fond  of  entertaining,  both  in  the 
country  and  in  London  ;  and  her  husband's  wit,  together  with 
her  own  amiability,  rendered  her  dinner-parties  and  assemblies 
most  popular.  It  is  amusing  to  notice  in  the  St.  James's  Evening 
Post  of  January  9,  1752,  the  following  extract : — "We  are  assured 
that  on  Tuesday  last  the  surprising  strong  woman  was  exhibited 
at  the  Countess  of  Holderness's,  before  a  polite  assembly  of  persons 
of  the  first  quality  ;  and  some  time  this  week  the  two  dwarfs  will 
play  at  brag  at  Madame  Holman's.  N.B.  The  strong  man  who 
was  to  have  performed  at  Mrs.  Nugent's  is  indisposed." 

Walpole  gives  an  amusing  account  of  a  visit  he  paid  to  Gosfield 
shortly  before  this  date.  "We  passed  our  time,"  he  says,  "very 
agreeably  ;  both  Nugent  and  his  wife  are  very  good-humoured, 
and  easy  in  their  house  to  a  degree.  There  was  nobody  else  but 
the  Marquis  of  Tweeddale,  his  new  Marchioness,^  who  is  infinitely 
good-humoured  and  good  company,  and  sang  a  thousand  French 
songs  mighty  prettily  ;  a  sister  of  Nugent's,^  who  does  not  figure, 
and  a  Mrs.  Eliot,^  a  sister  to  Mrs.  Nugent,  who  crossed  over  and 

^  Daughter  of  Earl  Granville. 

2  Peg  Nugent. 

3  Harriet,  wife  of  Richard  Eliot,  Esq.,  father  of  the  first  Lord  St. 
Germains,  and  daughter  of  Mr.  Craggs,  the  Postmaster-General,  by 
Miss    Santlow  the   actress,    afterwards   Mrs.    Barton    Booth.     For  a 


14  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

figured  in  with  Nugent :  I  mean  she  has  turned  Catholic  as  he 
has  Protestant.  She  has  built  herself  a  very  pretty  small  house  in 
the  Park,  and  is  only  a  daily  visitor.  Nugent  was  extremely 
communicative  of  his  own  labours,  repeated  us  an  ode  of  ten 
thousand  stanzas  to  abuse  Messieurs  de  la  Gallerie,  and  read  me  a 
whole  tragedy  which  has  really  a  great  many  pretty  things  in  it, 
not  indeed  equal  to  his  glorious  ode  ^  on  religion  and  liberty,  but 
with  many  of  those  absurdities  which  are  so  blended  with  his  parts." 

Mrs.  Nugent  died  in  1756,  aged  59,  and  was  buried  at  Gosfield. 
It  is  difficult  to  believe  that  she  was  much  regretted  by  her 
husband,  when  we  find  that  he  married  another  wife  in  the 
following  year;  but  she  was  lamented  by  a  large  circle  of  friends 
by  whom  she  had  been  greatly  liked.  Alexander  Pope,  who  died 
some  years  previously,  had  been  very  intimate  with  her,  partly,  no 
doubt,  in  consequence  of  his  great  affection  for  her  brother. 
Secretary  Craggs.  "  I  cannot  help,"  he  writes  to  her,  "  breaking 
through  the  ceremony  of  the  world,  and  writing  as  if  I  had  the 
title  of  a  relation  to  you."  Again,  "  I  shall  use  no  ceremonial 
with  you  on  no  occasion,  but  take  you  for  what  you  are  pleased  to 
profess  yourself  toward  me,  and  only  assure  you  I  shall  think  (if 
ever  I  found  myself  tempted  to  be  too  complaisant,  or  in  the  least 
degree  insincere  to  you)  that  I  am  offending  the  remains  of  the 
sincerest  man  I  ever  knew  in  the  world,  and  growing  ungrateful 
to  him  after  his  death.  Believe  me,  therefore,  madam,  sensible  of 
the  obligation  of  being  thought  well  of,  and  yet  more  sensible  of 
that  which  occasioned  your  good  opinion,  your  tenderness  for 
him,  and  your  acquiescence  in  his  judgment,  which  was  so  favourable 
(indeed  so  partial)  to  me.  In  a  word,  I  esteem  you  more  for 
loving  him  than  for  liking  me ;  nay,  I  not  only  esteem,  but  love 
you  the  more  for  that  very  reason  ;  and  I  will  be  always,  dear 
madam,  yours." 

This  friendship  was  continued  after  Anne's  third  marriage  ; 
and  when  Nugent  was  busily  employed  in  repairing  Gosfield, 
Pope  writes  to  her,  "  I  pray  that  you  may  be  delivered  from  all 
evil,  and  particularly,  in  the  first  place,  from  all  evil  workers,  or 
workmen,  who  are  as  dirty  and  as  noisy  as  devils,  in  your  house. 
But  you  may  wish  me  joy  of  workmen  in  my  garden,  which  I 
think  as  delightful  as  the  others  are  dreadful.  You  may  as  much 
expect  to  see  a  new  garden  when  you  come  to  Twitnam,  as  I  to 
see  a  new  house  when  I  go  to  Gosfield." 

copy  of  verses  addressed  by  Mr.  Pitt  to  this  lady,  see  the   Chatham 
Correspondence,  vol.  iv.  p.  373. 
1  The  Ode  to  William  Pulteney. 


']  I 


>   ■>  O     1     ^   > 


■!•»•>■>        i-,^         ■>!         i-,^ 


■>     -> 


■>      •> 


MEMOIR   OF    EARL    NUGENT  15 

Pope  was  a  constant  visitor  at  Gosfield,  and  became  very 
intimate  with  Nugent,  to  whom  he  addressed  several  letters  about 
the  year  1740.  He  usually  added  a  little  postscript  for  the  benefit 
of  his  old  friend,  such  as  "  My  old-fashioned  services  attend  Mrs. 
Nugent "  J  or,  "Mrs.  Nugent,  I  know,  remembers  me,  and  so  do  I 
her,  always,  and  acknowledge  her  Good  Temper  towards  me,  who 
does  not  quarrel  with  me  as  other  ladies  have  done"  ;  or,  "I  may 
remember  Mrs.  Nugent  as  one  of  ye  companions  of  my  younger 
and  gayer  days,  and  sigh  to  be  able  to  live  on  with  y"'.  But  we 
are  no  longer  Creatures  of  ye  same  Element  :  they  are  all  Air  and 
Fire,  and  1  am  Earth  :  however  1  admire  their  Flights,  and  am 
their  Servant." 

Great  as  was  the  influence  of  this  marriage  upon  Nugent's 
social  fortunes,  it  was  of  even  greater  importance  upon  his  political 
career.  At  the  time  (1741)  wiien  he,  so  to  speak,  took  possession 
of  the  parliamentary  representation  of  St.  Mawe's,  Frederick,  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  was  iioldi ng  a  Court  of  Stannary  as  Duke  of 
Cornwall.  "George  II.,"  says  Lord  Campbell,^  "who  had  been 
disliked  by  his  father,  actuallv  hated  his  own  son,"  and  the  latter 
repaid  him  by  scheming  against  him  and  the  Government,  and 
thwarting  them  in  every  conceivable  way.  He  was  forming  all 
sorts  of  imaginary  administrations,  and  his  efforts  were  especially 
directed  against  Sir  Robert  Walpole,  whose  downfall  was  nearly 
approaching.  He  was  not  long  in  need  of  help  in  his  designs,  for 
the  "Country  Party,"  or  "I'he  Patriots,"  as  they  were  called, 
were  not  slow  to  perceive  the  advantages  to  be  obtained  from  an 
alliance  with  a  recalcitrant  Prince  of  Wales,  and  they  eagerly 
flocked  to  his  side.  A  substantial  part  of  his  grievance  against 
his  father  consisted  of  a  denial  of  what  Frederick  considered  an 
adequate  maintenance,  and  Nugent,  with  his  jovial  manners  and 
free  command  of  money,  was  welcomed  as  an  associate  both  genial 
and  useful.  Hence,  at  the  very  outset  of  his  career,  he  was 
thrown  into  the  society  and  shared  in  the  councils  of  such  men 
as  Bolingbroke,  Carteret,  Chesterfield,  Wyndham,  and  Cc^bham. 
The  results  of  this  association  belong  properly  to  the  political  side 
of  Nugent's  life,  and  they  will  be  more  fully  dealt  with  under 
that  head  ;  but  they  must  also  have  had  considerable  bearing 
upon   his  social  standing. 

Amateur  performances  had  become  fashionable  under  the  first 
two  Georges,  who,  notwithstanding  their  imperfect  acquaintance 
with  the  language,  and  their  protracted  absences  from  the  country, 
were  yet    patrons    of   the    national    drama.     George    II.  was  at 

'    Lives  ()f  tin'  Lord  Chancellors,  v.  6f>. 


1 6  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Drury  Lane  Theatre  when  the  despatches  from  his  darling  son, 
the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  brought  news  of  the  victory  of  Culloden. 
The  King  stood  up  with  streaming  eyes,  and  loudly  thanked  God, 
and  announced  the  victory  of  his  people.  The  band,  by  Garrick's 
orders,  at  once  played  "  God  save  the  King,"  the  whole  audience 
joining  enthusiastically  in  the  chorus.  Frederick,  Prince  of 
Wales,  had  steadily  encouraged  the  private  performance  of  plays 
at  Cliftden  and  Leicester  Houses.  On  January  4,  1749,  the  children 
of  his  Royal  Highness,  with  the  aid  of  some  of  the  younger  members 
of  the  nobility,  represented  the  tragedy  of  Cato^  before  a  very 
distinguished  audience.  This  was  at  Leicester  House,  and  the 
performance  was  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Quin,  the  great 
tragedian.  Prince  George  was  Fortius;  Prince  Edward,  Juba; 
Master  Nugent,  Cato;  Master  Montague,  L^^ci//^;  Lord  Northson, 
Syphax ;  Master  Evelyn,  Semproniiis  ;  Lord  Milsington,  Deciiis  ; 
and  Master  Madden,  Marcus ;  while  the  Princess  Augusta  was 
Marcia ;  and  the  Princess  Elizabeth,  Lucia.  Before  the  rising 
of  the  curtain.  Prince  George,  then  eleven  years  old,  delivered  an 
appropriate  prologue.  After  the  tragedy  an  epilogue  was  spoken 
by  Prince  Edward.  That  Mr.  Quin  was  proud  of  his  pupil, 
Prince  George,  we  may  gather  from  the  well-known  story  of  the 
actor  exclaiming  triumphantly,  "  Ah  !  /  taught  the  boy  to  speak," 
when,  as  George  HL,  the  young  man  was  delivering  his  first 
speech  from  the  throne. 

An  amusing  incident  is  related  by  Walpole  as  having  taken 
place  at  an  assembly  in  Mrs.  Nugent's  house.  The  French 
Ambassadress,  who  was  present,  was  terrified  out  of  her  wits  at 
hearing  Mrs.  Nugent  call  out  "  Un  voleur  !  "  The  Ambassadress 
had  heard  so  much  about  robbing,  that  she  did  not  doubt  but,  dans 
ce  pais  cy^  they  robbed  in  the  middle  of  an  assembly.  It  turned 
out  to  be  only  a  thief  in  the  candle. 

In  1757  Nugent  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Henry  Drax 
of  Charborough  in  Dorset,  and  relict  of  Augustus,  fourth  Earl  of 
Berkeley,  who  had  only  died  two  years  previously.  He  thus  became 
possessed  of  yet  another  fortune,  though  he  failed  to  obtain  from 
his  third  wife  any  greater  degree  of  happiness  than  he  had  done 
from  his  second.  She  survived  him,  but  they  were  separated 
many  years  before  his  death.  She  bore  him  two  daughters,  Mary 
and  Louisa,  only  the  former  of  whom,  who  was  destined  to  become  his 
heiress,  he  deigned  to  recognize.  The  latter  left  her  father's  roof 
with  her  mother,  and  was  eventually  married  to  a  Captain  Hervey. 
Mary  was  brought  up  by  her  Aunt  Peggy,  together  with  Nugent's 
granddaughter  Elizabeth,  who  was  only  a  year  or  two  older. 

Of  Nugent's  tendency  to  practical  joking,  Wraxall  gives  a  none 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  17 

too  edifying  instance.     "  While  I  am  on  this  subject,"  he  writes,^ 
"  I  cannot  resist  relating  a  frolick,  which  rendered  Lord  Nugent, 
or  rather  Mr.  Nugent,  he  being  then  a  Commoner,  not  a  little 
distinguished,   towards   the    end    of   George  the   Second's    reign. 
George,  Earl  of  Bristol,  eldest  of  the   three  sons  of  the  famous 
Lord   Hervey,  whom    Pope    has,   very    unjustly,    transmitted    to 
Prosterity    as    '  Lord    Fanny,'    and    as    Sporus, — like    his    father, 
inclined   to  a  degree  of  effeminacy   in  his   person,  manners,  and 
dress.     Probably  these  characteristics  of  deportment,  while  they 
exposed  him  to  some  animadversion  or  ridicule,  led  to  a  supposition 
that  they  were  connected  with  want  of  spirit,  and  that  he  would 
not  promptlv    resent   insult.     Certain    it    is,  that    Mr.    Nugent, 
then  a  man  of  consideration,  fortune,  and  fashion,  living  in  the 
highest  company  of  the  Metropolis,  being  one   evening  at  Lord 
Temple's  house  in  Pall  Mall,  where  a  splendid  assembly  of  both 
sexes  was  collected,  laid  a  singular  bet  with  Lord  Temple  that  he 
would  spit  in  the  Earl  of  Bristol's  hat.     The  Wager  was  accepted, 
and   Mr.   Nugent   instantly  set   about  its   accomplishment.     For 
this  purpose,  as  he  passed  Lord  Bristol,  who  stood  in  the  doorway 
of  one   of  the  apartments,   very   richly   dressed,   holding  his  hat 
under  his  arm,  with  the  inside  uppermost,  Mr.  Nugent,  turning 
round  as  if  to  spit,  and  affecting  not  to  perceive  Lord  Bristol, 
performed  that  act  in  his  hat. 

"Pretending  the  utmost  concern  and  distress  at  the  unintentional 
rudeness   that  he  had   committed,  Mr.   Nugent  made  a  thousand 
Apologies  to   the  Earl  for   his    Indecorum,  and   entreated  to  be 
allowed  to  wipe  off  the  affront  with  his  pocket-handkerchief ;  but 
Lord  Bristol,  calmly  taking  out  his  own,  used  it  for  that  purpose, 
besought  Mr.  Nugent  not  to  be  discomposed,  assured  him  that  he 
was  not  discomposed  himself,  wiped  the  inside  of  his  hat,  and  then 
replacing  it  as  before,  under  his  arm,  asked  Mr.   Nugent  whether 
he  had  any  further  occasion  for  it  in  the  same  way.     Having  so 
done,  the  Earl,  without  changing  a  muscle  of  his  countenance,  or 
manifesting  any  irritation,  quitted  the  place  where  he  stood,  sat 
down  to  play  with  the  party  he  usually  made  at  Cards,  finished  his 
two  or  three  Rubbers,  and  returned  home.     Mr.    Nugent,  after 
triumphantly  winning  his  Bet,  considered  the  matter  as  terminated  ; 
but  in  this  supposition  he  counted  without  his  host.     Early  on  the 
following  morning,  before  he  was  risen,  he  received  a  note,  similar 
in  its  nature  and  contents  to  that  which  Gil    Bias    tells    us   he 
delivered   to   his   master,    Don   Mathias  de  Sylva  ;  but   with  the 
summons  contained  in  which  Mr.  Nugent  did  not  manifest  the 

^  Hist.  Mem.,  131  et  secj. 


i8  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

same  careless  promptitude  to  comply  as  the  Spanish  Grandee 
exhibited  in  the  novel  of  Le  Sage.  The  Note  acquainted  him 
that  Lord  Bristol  expected  and  demanded  Satisfaction  for  the  insult 
of  the  preceding  night,  without  delay  ;  naming  time,  as  well  as 
place.     An  instant  answer  was  required. 

"  Mr.  Nugent  now  perceived  that  he  had  involved  himself  in  a 
very  serious  affair  of  Honour,  where  he  had  only  meant  to  gratify  a 
wanton  moment  of  frolick.  However  personally  brave,  he  felt 
that  the  Exertion  of  his  Courage,  in  order  to  cover  or  justify  a 
premeditated  insult,  which  no  Sophistry  could  warrant  or  excuse, 
would  only  aggravate  his  offence.  Under  this  impression,  having 
determined  therefore  to  make  reparation,  he  wrote  to  Lord  Bristol, 
offering  every  possible  Apology  for  the  act  committed,  which,  he 
admitted,  would  be  inexcusable  if  it  had  been  meant  as  any  Affront. 
But,  as  the  best  extenuation  of  so  gross  a  seeming  violation  of  all 
decorum,  he  added  that  it  did  not  arise  from  the  most  remote 
intention  of  insulting  the  Earl,  the  whole  Matter  having  originated  in 
a  bet.  He  concluded  by  professing  his  readiness  to  ask  pardon  in 
the  most  ample  manner,  requesting  that  the  business  might  not 
produce  any  further  consequences.  To  this  Application  Lord 
Bristol  replied  that  though  he  was  disposed  readily  to  admit,  and 
to  accept,  the  proffered  Reparation,  yet,  as  the  Affront  had  been 
committed  in  public  company,  so  must  the  exacted  Apology  be 
made ;  and  he  named  the  Club-room  at  White's  as  the  place  where  he 
would  receive  it  from  Mr.  Nugent.  Not,  however,  by  any  means, 
Lord  Bristol  added,  from  him  only  ;  for,  as  he  now  understood 
that  the  Act  itself  owed  its  rise  to  a  wager,  it  became  clear  that 
there  must  be  another  person  implicated  in  the  Transaction.  He 
insisted,  therefore,  on  knowing  the  name  of  that  individual,  from 
whom,  as  a  participator  in  the  Frolick,  he  should  equally  exact  an 
Apology,  and  declaring  that  on  no  other  conditions  would  he 
relinquish  his  right  to  demand  personal  satisfaction.  In  con- 
sequence of  so  peremptory  a  Requisition,  Mr.  Nugent  owned  that 
Lord  Temple  was  the  person  to  whom  he  had  alluded  ;  and 
both  the  Gentlemen  were  finally  reduced  to  comply  with  the 
terms,  by  asking  pardon  in  the  Club-room  at  White's.^  Lord 
Bristol  then  declared  himself  satisfied,  and  the  Business  was  at 
an  end." 

^  Wa/pole  Letters,  vol.  ii.  p.  ^.  Horace  Walpole  to  the  Hon.  H. 
S.  Conway,  March  4,  1756.  It  is  worthy  of  notice  that,  although 
Earl  Nugent  was  not  himself  a  member  of  White's,  his  one  son.  Col. 
Nugent,  was,  and  a  record  of  this  singular  bet  is  now  in  the  possession 
of  the  Hon.  Algernon  Bourke. 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  19 

Wraxall  and  Horace  Walpole  differ  slightly  in  their  narration  of 
this  incident :  Walpole  having  it  that  it  was  Lord  Temple,  then 
Lord  Cobham,  who  spat  into  Lord  Bristol's  hat,  and  that  he  was 
consequently  nicknamed  Lord  Gob'em  for  some  time  afterwards. 
The  incident  must  have  caused  some  considerable  sensation  at  the 
time,  as  Walpole  talks  of  a  fashionable  saying,  "  We  spit  in  his  hat 
on  Thursday,  and  wiped  it  off  on  Friday." 

We  do  not  read  that  Nugent  was  ever  involved  in  any  really 
serious  affair ;  and  apart  from  the  duel  he  fought  in  early  life 
(which  is  described),  we  find  no  trace  of  his  taking  part  in 
any  passage  of  arms,  although,  according  to  Walpole,  he  was 
frequently  on  the  verge  of  doing  so.  "  Old  Nugent,"  he  writes 
on  one  occasion  in  1756,  "  came  fuddled  to  the  Opera  last  week, 
and  jostled  an  ancient  Lord  Irwin,  and  then  called  him  fool  for 
being  in  his  way.  They  were  going  to  fight ;  but  my  Lord 
Talbot,  professing  that  he  did  not  care  if  they  were  both  hanged, 
advised  them  to  go  back  and  not  expose  themselves.  You  will 
stare,  perhaps,  at  my  calling  Nugent  old :  it  is  not  merely  to 
distinguish  him  from  his  son,  but  he  is  such  a  champion  and  such 
a  lover,  that  it  is  impossible  not  to  laugh  at  him  as  if  he  was  a 
Methuselah  !  He  is  e/i  affaire  reglee  with  the  young  Lady  Essex. ^ 
At  a  supper  there  a  few  nights  ago  of  two-and-twenty  people,  they 
were  talking  of  his  going  to  Cashiobury  to  direct  some  alterations  : 
Mrs.  Nugent  in  the  softest  infantine  voice  called  out,  '  My  Lady 
Essex,  don't  let  him  do  anything  out  of  doors ;  but  you  will  find 
him  delightful  within  !  '  " 

Nugent's  rich  fund  of  humour  too  and  spontaneity  of  repartee 
added  greatly  to  his  reputation,  though  his  jests  were  not  always 
in  the  best  possible  taste.  On  one  occasion,  when  he  was  standing 
by  Lady  Catherine  Pelham  at  a  masquerade,  without  his  mask, 
listening  to  her  recital  of  the  history  of  a  mad  dog,  "  which," 
Walpole  suggests,  "  she  had  bit  herself,"  young  Leveson,^  the 
Duchess  of  Bedford's  brother,  came  up  to  where  they  were 
standing,  also  unmasked,  and  said,  looking  at  Nugent,  "  I  have 
seen  a  mad  dog  to-day,  and  a  silly  dog  too."  "  I  suppose,  Mr. 
Leveson,"  replied  Nugent,  "  you  have  been  looking  in  the  glass." 
Whereupon  they  walked  off  together,  and  were  with  difficulty 
prevented  from  fighting  ;  but  the  quarrel  was  soon  adjusted,  and 
they  were  reconciled  at  the  sideboard. 

Of  the  date  and  nature  of  Nugent's  introduction  to  Goldsmith, 

^  Frances,  daughter  of  Sir  Charles  Hanbury  Williams-Cunningham. 
-  The  Hon.  Richard  Leveson- Go wer,  second  son  of  John,  second 
Lord  Gower. 


20  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

all  we  know  is  that  it  took  place  in  consequence  of  the  publication 
of  The  Traveller  in  1764,  and  was  probably  very  shortly  after. 
On  that  head  I  cannot  do  better  than  quote  Mr.  Austin 
Dobson. 

"  One  of  the  friends  he  had  made  by  The  Traveller  was,  like 
himself,  an  Irishman.     This  was  Robert  Nugent  of  Carlanstown, 
in  Goldsmith's  own  county  of  Westmeath  (not  to  be  confounded 
with  Dr.  Nugent,  Burke's  father-in-law),  who,  two  years  later, 
was  to  be  created  Viscount  Clare. ^     Nugent  was  a  poet  in  his 
way, — there    are    a    number    of    his    early    verses    in    vol.  ii.    of 
Dodsley's  Collection  ;  and  his  Ode  to  fVilliam  Pulteney  was  good 
enough  to  be  quoted  by  Gibbon.     His  Essex  seat  became  a  fre- 
quent asylum  to  Goldsmith,  who  wrote  for  his  friend  a  charming 
occasional  poem,  to  which  reference  will  be  made  hereafter.     But 
for  the  present  the  most  notable  thing  connected  with  Nugent  is, 
that  he  introduced  Goldsmith  to  the  notice  of  the  Earl  of  North- 
umberland,   then  Lord-Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  who,  says  Percy, 
being  newly  returned  from  that  country  in   1764,  'invited  our 
poet  to  an  interview.'    It  is  supposed,  though  the  '  Percy  Memoir  ' 
is  here  a  little  confusing,  that  this  interview  was  the  same  as  one 
of  which  Sir  John  Hawkins  gives  the  following  account  in  his  Life 
of  Joh?ison.     '  Having  one  day,'  he  says,  '  a  call  to  wait  on  the 
late   Duke,  then   Earl,  of  Northumberland,  I  found  Goldsmith 
waiting  for  an  audience  in  an  outer  room.     I  asked  him  what  had 
brought  him  there :   he  told  me  an  invitation  from  his  lordship.     I 
made  my  business  as  short  as  I  could,  and  as  a  reason,  mentioned  that 
Doctor  Goldsmith  was  waiting  without.     The  Earl  asked  me  if  I 
was    acquainted   with  him.       I  told  him  I  was,  adding  what  I 
thought  likely  to  recommend  him.      I  retired,  and  staid  in  the 
outer  room  to  take  him  home.     Upon  his  coming  out,  I  asked 
him  the  result  of  his  conversation.     *'  His  lordship,"  says  he,  "  told 
me  he  had  read  my  poem,"  meaning   The  Traveller ^  "  and  was 
much  delighted  with  it;  that  he  was  going  Lord-Lieutenant  of 
Ireland,  and  that,  hearing  that  I  was  a  native  of  that  country,  he 
should  be  glad  to  do  me  any  kindness."     ''  And  what  did  you 
answer,"  asked  I,  ''  to  this  gracious  offer  ?  "     "  Why,"  said  he,  "  I 
could  say  nothing  but  that  I  had  a  brother  there,  a  clergyman, 
that  stood  in  need  of  help;  as  for  myself,  I  have  no  dependence 
on    the    promises    of  great  men;    I   look   to  the  booksellers  for 
support;  they  are  my  best  friends,  and  I  am  not  inclined  to  for- 
sake them  for  others."  '    One  can  imagine  what  kind  of  effect  this 
entirely  unsophisticated  proceeding  would    have  upon  the  time- 

This  fixes  the  date  at  1764. 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  21 

serving  narrator  of  the  anecdote;  and,  indeed,  his  indignation 
blazes  out  in  the  comment  with  which  he  concludes  his  story. 
'  Thus,'  he  exclaims,  '  did  this  idiot  in  the  affairs  of  the 
world  trifle  with  his  fortunes,  and  put  back  the  hand  that  was 
held  out  to  assist  him  !  Other  offers  of  a  like  kind  he  either 
rejected,  or  failed  to  improve,  contenting  himself  with  the 
patronage  of  one  nobleman,^  whose  mansion  afforded  him  the 
delight  of  a  splendid  table,  and  a  retreat  for  a  few  days  from  the 
metropolis.'  " 

As  already  stated,  the  book  was  issued  in  December,  and  from 
Davies'  words  it  is  clear  that  Goldsmith  had  already  gone  to  visit 
Lord  Clare  before  this  date.  He  stayed  with  him  some  time,  and 
during  the  opening  months  of  1771  was  still  in  his  company. 
"  Goldsmith  is  at  Bath,  with  Lord  Clare,"  writes  Johnson  to 
Langton,  in  March.  At  Bath  occurred  that  characteristic  second 
visit  to  the  Duke  of  North umberland,^  which,  since  it  is  related  by 
Percy  on  the  authority  of  the  Duchess  herself,  can  scarcely  be 
rejected  by  the  courteous  biographer,  even  if  it  were  not,  as  it  is,  an 
incident  thoroughly  in  keeping  with  what  we  know  of  Goldsmith 
from  other  sources.  "  On  one  of  the  parades  at  Bath,"  says 
Percy,  "  the  Duke  and  Lord  Nugent  had  hired  two  adjacent 
houses.  Dr.  Goldsmith,  who  was  then  resident  on  a  visit  to  the 
latter,  one  morning  walked  up  into  the  Duke's  dining-room,  as 
he  and  the  Duchess  were  preparing  to  sit  down  to  breakfast.  In 
a  manner  the  most  free-and-easy,  he  threw  himself  on  a  sofa,  and 
as  he  was  then  perfectly  known  to  them  both,  they  inquired  of 
him  the  Bath  news  of  the  day,  and,  imagining  there  was  some 
mistake,  endeavoured  by  easy  and  cheerful  conversation  to  prevent 
his  being  too  much  embarrassed,  till,  breakfast  being  served  up, 
they  invited  him  to  stay  and  partake  of  it.  Then  he  awoke  from 
his  reverie,  declared  he  thought  he  had  been  in  the  house  of  his 
friend  Lord  Nugent,  and,  with  a  confusion  which  may  be 
imagined,  hastily  withdrew;  but  not  till  they  had  kindly  made 
him  promise  to  dine  with  them. 

That  Goldsmith  referred  to  his  friend  as  Lord  Nugent  is 
scarcely  possible,  for  Lord  Clare  did  not  obtain  this  title  until  after 
Goldsmith  had  been  dead  two  years.  This,  however,  is  a  trifle 
which  detracts  little  from  the  veracity  of  the  story.  How  much 
longer  he  continued  to  be  Lord  Clare's  guest  is  unrecorded;  but 

^  Nugent,  as  yet,  was  only  **  Mr."  But  Hawkins  wrote  his  Life  of 
yohnson  many  years  after  this  date. 

^  See  Chapter  VII.  The  Earl  of  Northumberland  had  been  created 
a  Duke  in  1766. 


22  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

shortly  after  his  return  to  London  he  is  supposed  to  have  addressed 
to  him,  in  return  for  a  present  of  venison,  the  delightful  "  poetical 
epistle  "  w^hich  is  to  be  found  in  his  w^orks.  That  it  was  v^ritten 
subsequent  to  the  middle  of  1770  may  be  inferred  from  its  quota- 
tion of  a  famous  lapse  ^  in  one  of  the  love-letters  of  his  illiterate 
Royal  Highness,  Henry  Frederick,  Duke  of  Cumberland,  to  the 
Countess  Grosvenor — a  correspondence  which,  in  the  summer  of 
the  above  year,  afforded  huge  delight  to  the  scandal-mongers — and 
it  is  most  probable  that  the  poem  was  written  in  the  spring  of 
1 77 1.  But  whatever  its  exact  date,  Mr.  Forster  is  right  (not- 
withstanding a  slight  obscurity  in  the  closing  lines)  in  claiming 
the  highest  praise  for  this  piece  of  "  private  pleasantry."  So 
happy  is  it,  that,  were  it  not  for  its  obvious  recollections  of 
Boileau's  third  satire,  one  might  be  disposed  to  regard  it  as  auto- 
biographical. To  select  a  passage  from  a  piece  so  uniformly 
wrought  is  difficult,  but  the  excellence  of  the  description  of  the 
dinner,  as  a  sample  of  what  his  most  superfine  contemporaries  called 
the  poet's  "  low  "  humour,  must  serve  as  an  excuse  for  quoting  it 
at  length.  The  reader  will  only  need  to  remember,  that  while 
Goldsmith,  having  distributed  part  of  his  just-received  present,  is 
debating  what  to  do  with  the  rest,  it  is  unblushingly  carried  off 
by  a  chance  visitor,  who  invites  its  owner  to  join  in  eating  it  in 
the  form  of  a  pasty. 

Nugent's  daughter  Mary  was  a  great  favourite  of  Goldsmith's, 
and  an  amusing  story  is  told  of  how  on  one  occasion,  when  he  was 
asleep  after  dinner,  she  tied  his  wig  on  to  the  back  of  his  chair,  so 
that  on  waking  and  rising  to  his  feet,  his  wig  was  dragged  from  his 
head,  exposing  his  baldness.  He  treated  the  joke,  however,  with 
the  utmost  good-nature,  and  put  the  incident  in  his  delightful 
comedy.  She  Stoops  to  Conquer.  It  is  possible  that  his  unfortu- 
nate mistake  at  Bath,  already  described,  may  have  given  him  the 
main  idea  of  the  play. 

"  I  remember  one  story  now  which  she  used  to  tell  of  a 
manifest  victory  that  Goldsmith  once  had  over  her  father,  who 
chose,  at  one  time,  to  speak  in  high  terms  of  M.,  a  very  bad 
actor,  whom  Garrick  advised  to  leave  the  stage.  Lord  Nugent 
was,  one  evening,  very  eloquent  to  Goldsmith  in  praise  of  M. 
'But,  my  lord,'  said  Goldsmith,  'you  must  allow  he  treads  the 
stage  very  ill — he  waddles.'  '  Waddles  ? '  said  Lord  Nugent,  '  yes, 
he  waddles  like  a  goose — why,  you  know  we  call  him  Goose  M.' 

^  "Left  alone  to  reflect,  having  emptied  my  shelf, 

'^  And  nobody  with  me  at  sea  but  myself.'  " 
The  second  line  is  almost  a  textual  reproduction  of  a  phrase  in  one 
of  the  Duke's  letters. 


•I  •>■>-■>■>  Til  •>■>,, 

1>  111  1  Till         11 


■)  Ill-Ill  1  '''l'  ' 

0  1*  ♦«-!  ■•^  'l""' 

1  1*1'  1«  11  ll  IT 
1  11  'lllllll  1 
llllll'l         11              11          1           1 


J^Air  iJincIcin^h 


am 


Slclrsl    Q  aiLolih'T  of  Sari  cJ^u^cnl 


«    •    • 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  23 

'  Well,  and  then  you  know,  when  he  endeavours  to  express  strong 
passion,  he  bellows.'  '  Bellows  ? '  said  Lord  Nugent,  '  to  be  sure 
he  does — bellows  like  a  bull.  Why,  we  call  him  Bull  M.' 
'Well,  then,'  continued  Goldsmith,  pursuing  his  triumph,  'his 
voice  breaks  and  he  croaks.'  '  Croaks  ? '  said  Lord  Nugent, 
'  why,  the  fellow  croaks  like  a  frog — we  call  him  Frog  M.  But 
M.  is  a  good  actor.'  '  Why,  yes,'  said  Goldsmith,  '  barring  the 
goose,  and  the  bull,  and  the  frog,  and  a  few  other  things  I  could 
mention,  and  not  wishing  to  speak  ill  of  my  neighbours,  I  will 
allow  M.  is  a  good  actor.' " 

Once,  says  Boswell,  writing  of  Goldsmith,  he  complained  to  a 
mixed  company  that,  at  Lord  Clare's,  Lord  Camden  had  taken  no 
more  notice  of  him  than  if  he  "  had  been  an  ordinary  man  " — an 
utterance  which  required  all  Johnson's  championship  to  defend. 

Sir  Nathaniel  Wraxall,  who  has  presented  us  with  so  many 
graphic  and  diverting  pictures  of  the  men  and  manners  of  his 
time,  devotes  considerable  space  to  a  visit  he  made  to  Nugent 
when  the  latter  was  at  the  summit  of  his  power  and  prosperity. 

"Returning  to  England  in  the  summer  of  1776,"  says  the 
genial  2;ossip,^  "  I  went  down  soon  afterwards  on  a  visit  to  Lord 
Nueent,  at  Gosfield  in  Essex,  a  seat  which  has  since,  in  the 
revolutionary  Times,  afforded  a  temporary  Asylum  to  the  represent- 
ative of  the  Capetian  Line,  when  expelled  from  a  Country  over 
which  his  Ancestors  had  reigned,  in  uninterrupted  male  succession, 
for  above  eight  hundred  years  !  When  I  visited  Gosfield,  among 
the  guests  who  attracted  most  attention  might  justly  be  reckoned 
the  late  Lord  Temple,  then  far  advanced  in  life,  and  very  infirm. 
In  person  he  was  tall  and  large,  though  not  inclined  to  corpulency. 
A  disorder,  the  seat  of  which  lav  in  his  ribs,  bending;  him  almost 
double,  compelled  him,  in  walking,  to  make  use  of  a  sort  of 
crutch  ;  but  his  mind  seemed  exempt  from  any  decay.  His  con- 
versation was  animated,  brilliant,  and  full  of  entertainment. 
Notwithstanding  the  name  of  'Squire  Gawkey,'  which  he  had 
obtained  in  the  satirical  or  party  productions  of  those  Times,  and 
which,  we  may  presume,  was  not  given  him  without  good 
reason,  he  had  nevertheless  the  air  and  appearance  of  a  man 
of  high  condition  when  he  appeared  with  the  Insignia  and 
Decorations  of  the  Garter,  seated  at  table.  It  is  well  known 
that  George  the  Second,  who,  though  he  generally  yielded  to 
ministerial  violence  or  importunity,  yet  manifested  often  great 
reluctance  and  even  ill  humour  in  his  manner  of  compliance  on 
these  occasions,  strongly  disliked  Lord  Temple.  Being,  however, 
compelled,  in  consequence  of  political  arrangements  very  repugnant 

1  Wraxall,  Hist.  Mem.  (18 15),  123. 


24  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

to  his  feelings,  to  invest  that  nobleman  with  the  Order  of  the 
Garter,  the  King  took  so  little  pains  to  conceal  his  aversion,  both 
to  the  individual  and  to  the  act,  that  instead  of  placing  the  Riband 
decorously  over  the  shoulder  of  the  new  Knight,  His  Majesty, 
averting  his  head,  and  muttering  indistinctly  some  expressions  of 
dissatisfaction,  threw  it  across  him,  and  turned  his  back  at  the 
same  instant  in  the  rudest  manner.^  (It  may  be  mentioned  that 
Temple  had  been  refused  the  Garter  once,  and  had  thereupon 
resigned  the  Privy  Seal,  November  14,  1759,  but  at  the  request 
of  the  King  resumed  office  two  days  after,  and  was  elected  a 
Knight  of  the  Garter  on  February  4,  1760.) 

******* 

"  Lord  Nugent  ^  was  created  an  Irish  Earl  during  the  time  I  was 
at  Gosfield,  having  antecedently  been  raised  to  the  title  of  Viscount 
Clare.  Having  sat  in  many  parliaments,  he  spoke  fluently  as  well 
as  with  energy  and  force  ;  was  accounted  a  good  debater,  and 
possessed  a  species  of  eloquence,  altogether  unembarrassed  by  any 
false  modesty  or  timidity.  In  the  progress  of  a  long  life,  he  had 
raised  himself  from  a  private  gentleman  of  an  ancient  family  in 
Ireland,  and  a  considerable  patrimonial  fortune,  to  an  Irish  Earl- 
dom, which  dignity,  together  with  his  name,  he  procured  to 
devolve  on  the  late  Marquis  of  Buckingham,  then  Mr.  Grenville, 
who  had  married  his  only  daughter.^  They  were  both  likewise  at 
Gosfield  during  the  time  of  which  I  speak,  and  Lord  Nugent 
having  gone  up  to  town  for  the  purpose  of  kissing  the  King's  hand 
upon  his  new  Creation,  returned  from  thence  on  the  following  day, 
as  we  were  seated  at  table  after  dinner.  The  object  of  his  visit  to 
St.  James's  was  well  known  by  everyone  present,  but  he  immediately 
announced  it  as  soon  as  he  had  taken  his  place  by  filling  out  a 
glass  of  wine  and  toasting  his  daughter's  health  as  Lady  Mary 
Grenville. 

"Lord  Nugent  when  young  had  occupied  a  distinguished  place  in 
the  favour  of  Frederick,  Prince  of  Wales,  and  was  more  than  once 
destined  to  have  filled  an  office  in  some  of  those  imaginary 
administrations  commemorated  by  Dodington^  which  were  per- 
petually prohibit^. at  Leicester  House,  during  the  long  interval  of 
nearly  fourteen  years  that  elapsed  between  the  accession  of  George 
II.  and  his  Royal  Highness's  decease  in  1751.     The  Prince  died 

^  Wraxall  here  goes  on  to  relate  a  similar  incident  on  the  investiture 
of  the  Marquis  Camden  with  the  same  order  by  George  III. 

2  Wraxall,  Hist.  Mem.  I.  126. 

^  Wraxall,  it  will  be  seen,  altogether  ignores  the  existence  of  the 
second  daughter. 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  25 

considerably  in  his  debt  :  nor  was  the  sum  so  due  ever  liquidated, 
unless  we  consider  the  offices  and  dignities  conferred  on  Lord 
Nugent  by  George  IIL  at  different  periods  of  his  reign,  as  having 
been  in  the  nature  of  a  retribution  for  loans  made  to  his  father. 
In  return  for  these  marks  of  royal  favour  he  presented  verses  to 
the  Queen  accompanving  a  piece  of  Irish  stuff  which  her  Majesty 
graciously  accepted.  Both  the  poetry  and  the  manufacture  were 
satirically  said  to  be  Irish  Stuff.    They  began,  if  I  recollect  right — 

*  Could  poor  lerne  gifts  afford. 
Worthy  the  mistress  of  her  lord. 
Of  sculptur'd  gold,  a  costly  frame, 
Just  emblem  of  her  worth  should  flame.' 

"  But  Lord  Nugent's  muse  will  never  rank  him  with  Prior,  nor 
even  with  Lyttleton  and  Chesterfield.     He  was  a  better  courtier 
than  a  poet,  and  he  had  always  been  distinguished  by  the  other  sex. 
^  *  ^  *  *  7^  * 

"  His  devotion  to  the  sex,  which  remained  proof  to  all  trials, 
animated  him  even  to  the  close  of  his  life.  Lord  Temple  and  he 
both  composed  verses  after  this  time  addressed  to  the  same  object. 
I  believe  it  was  in  the  month  of  August  1776  that  these  aged 
Peers  presented  some  couplets  of  their  respective  compositions  to 
the  late  Duchess  of  Gordon,  then  in  the  meridian  of  her  charms, 
when  Lord  Temple,  having  entertained  her  and  the  Duke,  her 
husband,  at  Stow,  lighted  up  the  grotto  for  her  reception.  Lord 
Nugent,  to  a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  world,  joined  a  coarse  and 
often  licentious,  but  natural,  strong  and  ready  wit,  which  no  place 
nor  company  prevented  him  from  indulging,  and  the  effect  of 
which  was  augmented  by  an  Irish  accent  that  never  forsook  him. 
It  is  well  known  that  when  a  Bill  was  introduced  into  the  House 
of  Commons  for  better  watching  the  Metropolis,  in  order  to  con- 
tribute towards  effecting  which  object  one  of  the  clauses  went  to 
propose  that  watchmen  should  be  compelled  to  sleep  during  the 
daytime.  Lord  Nugent  with  admirable  humour  got  up  and  desired 
that  '  he  might  be  personally  included  in  the  provisions  of  the 
Bill,  being  frequently  so  tormented  with  the  gout  as  to  be  unahle 
to  sleep  either  by  day  or  by  night.'  " 

But  it  is  to  be  feared  that  Nugent  was  not  always  satisfied  with 
mere  harmless  pieces  of  gallantry  like  the  above  little  incident 
described  by  Wraxall.  "  You  have  heard,"  writes  Walpole,  "  that 
Nugent  must  answer  a  little  more  seriously  for  Lady  Lyming- 
ton's  child.  Why,  she  was  as  ugly  as  Mrs.  Nugent,  had  had 
more  children,  and  was  not  so  young.     The  pleasure  of  wrong- 


26  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

ing  a  woman  who  had  bought  him  so  dear  could  be  the  only 
temptation." 

Nugent's  very  advanced  age  renders  it  probable  that  he  passed 
the  remainder  of  his  life  after  seceding  from  Parliament  in  1784  in 
retirement.  He  appears  to  have  retained  vigorous  health  up  to 
within  a  few  days  of  his  death.  On  October  8,  1788,  we  find 
his  son-in-law,  the  Marquis  of  Buckingham,  then  Lord-Lieutenant 
of  Ireland,  writing  from  Blackrock  to  W.  W.  Grenville  in 
London — 

"  I  have  been  prevented,  from  continual  agitation,  writing  to 
apprize  you  of  the  very  unexpected  state  of  health  in  which  Lord 
Nugent  has  been  for  the  last  nine  days.  ...  In  this  situation  I 
must,  for  many  reasons,  request  you  not  to  leave  London  ;  and  if 
Camplin  be  in  the  country,  you  will  apprize  him  of  this,  and 
direct  him  to  come  to  town  immediately,  that  he  may  assist 
G.  Nugent  (whom  I  shall  send  over  in  case  of  Lord  Nugent's 
death),  and  his  executors,  McNamara  and  Drummond,  in  separat- 
ing the  papers  and  the  property." 

Nugent  died  at  the  house  of  Major  O'Donnel  in  Dublin,  at 
the  advanced  age  of  eighty-six.  His  son  Edmund  died  April  26, 
1 771.  Little  is  known  of  his  life  except  that  he  served  in  the 
army,  and  succeeded  his  father  as  Member  of  Parliament  for  St. 
Mawe's.  Owing  to  an  unfortunate  flaw  which  I  have  dilated  on 
at  greater -length  in  a  subsequent  chapter,  his  marriage  was  set 
aside,  and  his  two  sons  illegitimatized.  Consequently  Mary,  Lord 
Nugent's  daughter  by  his  third  wife,  inherited  not  only  the  title 
but  also  his  estates,  which,  by  her  marriage  with  the  Marquis  of 
Buckingham,  merged  into  that  family.  The  achievements  of 
Nugent's  grandsons,  who  were  destined  to  make  so  much  mark 
in  their  respective  professions,  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix. 

Nugent  is  variously  stated  to  have  died  on  the  13th  and  14th 
of  October.  7  he  Marquis  of  Buckingham,  in  his  letter  of  the 
15th,  dated  from  Dublin  Castle,  says — 

"  Lord  Nugent  died  last  night.  I  have  examined  (with  Colonel 
Nugent)  his  papers,  and  we  found  a  counterpart  of  his  will  open, 
and  as  it  appears  to  be  more  perfect  than  the  parts  which  are 
lodged  in  London,  I  have  desired  G.  Nugent  to  carry  it  to 
McNamara  and  Drummond,  the  executors.  Lord  Nugent  leaves 
me  all  arrears  on  his  Essex  and  Irish  estates." 

The  Marquis  writes  further  in  a  few  days — 

"October  18:  Blackrock.  As  to  my  own  affairs,  on  which 
head  you  complain  so  much  of  my  neglect,  I  really  do  not  recollect 
any  point  which  I  have  left  unanswered,  either  through  my  letters 
or  through  Bernard,  except  that  of  my  bond  to  you  for  the  ;^I000 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  27 

advanced  to  Tom.  I  think  Lord  Nugent's  estates  here  are 
probably  underlet ;  but  I  probably  shall  inherit  about  ^6000  per 
annum  in  totOj  subject  to  Mrs.  Nugent's  annuity  of  ^500,  and 
to  ^20,000  to  be  raised  upon  it." 

This  estimate  seems  to  have  been  of  too  sanguine  a  nature,  for 
it  was  followed  on  the  29th  by  another  letter — 

"  The  Irish  estates  turn  out  worse  than  I  ima2;ined  :  thev  will 
not  remit  ^4000 ;  and  the  Gosfield  is  not  worth  more  than 
^^1500,  subject  to  ^20,000,  and  to  about  ;^700  annuities." 

And  on  November  10  he  complains — 

"Lord  Nugent's  appo'mtment  is  whimsical  indeed;  but  it  is 
cruel  to  me  that  he  should,  by  entails  ad  bifinihnn^  not  worth  a 
straw,  give  his  property  to  J.  and  R.  Grenville  rather  than  to  7«6'." 

A  few  anecdotes  and  contemporary  opinions  of  Earl  Nugent 
calculated  to  throw  light  upon  his  character  and  reputation  in  his 
capacities  of  politician,  poet,  wit,  and  Ion  vivant^  may  not  be  out 
of  place  here.  Horace  Walpole  wrote  of  him — "  He  was  one  of 
those  men  of  parts,  whose  dawn  was  the  brightest  moment  of  a 
long  life,  and  who,  though  possessed  of  different  talents,  employed 
them  in  depreciating  his  own  fame,  and  destroying  all  opinion  of 
his  judgment,  except  in  the  point  of  raising  himself  to  honours." 
Walpole's  estimate  of  Nugent  was  at  all  times  expressed  with  a 
more  than  ordinary  share  of  the  causticity  which  characterized 
and  often  marred  his  utterances,  but  Nugent's  earlv  connection 
with  the  "  Patriots,"  or  "  Country  Party,"  between  whom  and  Sir 
Robert  a  bitter  hatred  had  subsisted,  probably  had  something 
to  do  with  this.  Such  a  theory,  however,  is  hardlv  necessary,  since 
Horace  Walpole  notoriously  and  habitually  spoke  slightingly  of  his 
friends.  It  was  he  who  invented  the  word  to  "  Nugentize  "  in  a 
none  too  flattering  sense,  although  he  appears  to  have  thought 
very  highly  of  the  Ode  to  Pulteiiey  and  to  have  refrained  from 
adopting  the  theory  that  Nugent  had  procured  Mallet  to  write  it 
for  him.  Also,  alluding  no  doubt  to  the  garrulity  of  Nugent's 
declining  years,  to  which  Wraxall  also  bore  testimony,  he  declared 
that  "  he  talked  a  prodigious  deal  of  nonsense,"  a  statement  which 
suggests  the  remark  made  of  Sir  Robert  Walpole,  the  first  Lord 
Orford,  that  he  "  loved  neither  writing  nor  reading,"  his  real  love 
being  for  "  the  table,  the  bottle,  and  the  chase,"  which,  eliminating 
the  last-mentioned  article,  brings  him  into  even  closer  comparison 
with  Nugent.  Lord  George  Sackville,  however,  went  even  Rirther, 
and  dubbed  Nugent  "  the  most  uninformed  man  of  his  rank  in 
England."  Wraxall,  writing  in  a  far  more  impartial,  but 
sufficiently  critical,  spirit,  describes  him  in  a  passage  quoted  more 
fully  elsewhere,  as  "  a  man  of  very  considerable  natural  abilities, 


28  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

though  not  of  a  very  cultured  mind.  His  talents  seemed  more 
adapted  to  active  than  to  speculative  life,  to  the  drawing-room  or 
the  House  of  Commons  than  to  the  closet." 

It  is  in  connection  v^^ith  his  famous  friendship  with  Goldsmith 
that  Prior  writes  of  him  in  his  life  of  the  author  of  The  Vicar  of 
Wakefield^  as  "  a  poet,  a  man  of  wit  and  gallantry,  and  a  facetious 
companion,"  a  character  in  which  he  was  clearly  recognized  by 
Chesterfield  and  others.  Elsewhere  he  is  referred  to  as  "  a  man  of 
gallantry,"  a  reputation  which  he  achieved  by  his  singular  convers- 
ational powers,  and  that  natural,  strong,  and  ready  humour, 
augmented  by  a  rich  Irish  brogue,  which  made  him  so  immensely 
popular  with  ladies.  Elsewhere  in  Wraxall  we  learn  that  he  was 
regarded  as  "  a  better  courtier  than  a  poet,  and  he  had  always  been 
distinguished  by  the  other  sex."  Glover  refers  to  him  as  a  "jovial 
and  voluptuous  Irishman,  who  had  left  Popery  for  the  Protestant 
religion,  money  and  widows." 

Some  notion  of  Nugent's  personal  appearance  may  be  gained 
from  the  portraits  here  given.  For  the  rest,  Robert  junior,  in 
describing  their  first  meeting  at  the  Castle  Inn,  in  Aldersgate 
Street,  speaks  thus  of  him — "  A  lusty,  tall  gentleman,  wrapp'd  up 
in  a  horseman's  cloak,  immediately  stepped  out,  and,  coming  into 
the  house,  in  a  voice  the  tone  of  which  not  being  modulated  in 
the  mildest  strain,  conveyed  no  very  favourable  opinion  of  the 
speaker  to  the  ideas  of  the  standers  by."  Chesterfield,  in  one 
of  the  letters  produced  in  a  later  chapter,  writes  of  "  those  Athletic 
calves  "  and  "  those  Herculean  shoulders,  now  able  to  ease  Atlas  of 
his  burden,"  and  generally  to  testify  to  his  opinion  that  Nugent 
was  what  we  might  call  "  a  fine  figure  of  a  man."  The  editors  of 
The  Life  and  Times  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds^  C.  R.  Leslie,  R.  A., 
and  Tom  Taylor,  refer  to  him  as  "  the  jolly,  loud-voiced,  red- faced 
Mr.  Nugent."  Wraxall,  in  recording  that  Nugent  was  created  an 
Irish  earl  during  the  time  that  Sir  Nathaniel  was  staying  at 
Gosfield,  adds  that  "  he  formed  a  striking  contrast  to  Lord 
Temple  in  his  manner  and  address.  Of  an  athletic  frame  and  a 
vigorous  constitution,  though  very  far  advanced  in  years,  he  was 
exempt  from  infirmity,  possessing  a  stentorian  voice,  with  great 
animal  spirits  and  vast  powers  of  conversation."  Albemarle,  in  his 
Rockingham,  touches  him  with  no  light  hand,  and  after  scarifying 
his  religious  and  political  character,  says  that  he  "  was  indebted  to 
nature  for  an  athletic  frame,  a  vigorous  form,  and  a  stentorian 
voice,  an  inexhaustible  flow  of  spirits,  a  rich  fund  of  humour,  and  a 
ready  eloquence,  in  which  bashfulness  had  no  share." 

Judging  Nugent's  life  from  a  moral  standpoint,  we  cannot  but 
confess  that  it  manifests  no  high  degree  of  principle  or  integrity. 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  29 

According  to  contemporary  opinion,  he  purchased  self-advancement 
at  the  sacrifice  of  esteem,  and  rose  to  honours  and  dignities  at  the 
price  of  contempt.  He  changed  his  politics  with  every  succeeding 
Ministry,  his  religion  at  his  own  convenience  ;  and  thus  it  is  that, 
though  brought  up  as  a  Catholic,  we  shortly  find  him  writing  an 
ode  on  his  own  conversion  from  Popery.  Yet  strong  as  is  its 
reasoning,  his  arguments  can  have  operated  but  temporary  convic- 
tion on  himself,  for  he  died  a  member  of  the  Church  he  had 
attacked  so  severely.  But  the  moral  tone  of  his  day  was  not  a  lofty 
one,  and  he  is  not  to  be  judged  from  the  standpoint  of  politics  and 
society  of  to-day. 


CHAPTER   II 

By  his  second  marriage,  1736-7,  Nugent  attained  control  of 
the  parliamentary  borough  of  St.  Mawe's  in  Cornwall,  for  which 
he  was  first  returned  in  1741. 

Political  affairs  in  Great  Britain  were  at  that  time  approaching 
a  crisis.  The  Jacobite  leanings  and  intrigues  of  Bolingbroke  and 
Harley  had  effectually  kept  the  Tories  in  the  background.  The 
Whig  supremacy  had  been  complete  for  nearly  half-a-century. 
It  was  not  that  the  opinion  of  the  country  was  essentially  with 
the  Whigs.  Fear  of  a  Papist  Government,  and  mistrust  of  the 
party  whose  leaders  favoured  a  revival  of  the  Stuart  dynasty,  were 
powerful  factors  whose  influence  was  intensified  by  the  access  of 
material  prosperity  which  accompanied  the  policy  of  Walpole. 
Politics  were  practically  dead  ;  but  the  country  felt  secure  under 
the  fiscal  administration  of  a  great  financier.  The  fall  of  Walpole, 
however,  was  approaching.  He  was  essentially  a  peace  minister. 
His  efforts  alone  had  kept  England  from  participation  in  the  war 
arising  from  the  contest  as  to  the  succession  to  the  throne  of 
Poland ;  and  his  influence  brought  about  the  intervention  of 
England  and  Holland  for  the  restoration  of  peace.  The  country 
noted  with  growing  suspicion  that  this  end  was  attained  at  the 
price  of  a  triumph  of  both  branches  of  the  House  of  Bourbon, 
which  entered  into  a  union,  the  result  of  which  was  the  "  Family 
Compact"  between  France  and  Spain,  the  main  object  of  which 
was  the  ruin  of  the  commercial  supremacy  of  Great  Britain.  The 
trading  classes,  who  had  previously  supported  Walpole  because  of 
the  success  of  his  commercial  prosperity,  were  goaded  to  madness 
by  the  conditions  of  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht,  their  vexatious  use 
by  the  Spaniards,  and  the  non-compliance  with  them  of  the 
French.  A  strident  clamour  for  war  arose,  and  Walpole  resisted 
it  to  the  utmost.  His  position  had  been  weakened  by  the  death 
of  the  Queen  ;  and  it  was  now  enfeebled  yet  more  by  the  open 
hostility  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  who,  in  his  hatred  of  his  father, 

30 


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MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  31 

had  come  to  hate  his  father's  ministers  as  heartily  as  George  II. 
had  come  to  hate  those  of  George  I.  The  Tories  were  slowly 
returning  to  Parliament,  and  their  numbers  had  now  mounted  to 
one  hundred  and  ten.  The  numbers  and  violence  of  the  "  Patriots  '* 
had  grown  with  the  open  patronage  of  Prince  Frederick.  The 
counties  would  not  send  a  member  to  his  support,  and  the 
^ountry  was  now  slowly  turning  against  hfm.  As  his  majority 
was  drawn  from  the  boroughs,  it  rested  therefore  on  management, 
on  corruption,  and  on  the  support  of  the  trading  classes.  But 
with  the  cry  for  a  commercial  war  the  support  of  the  trading 
class  failed  him.  Even  in  his  own  Cabinet,  although  he  had 
driven  from  it  every  man  of  independence,  he  was  pressed  at  this 
juncture  to  yield  by  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  and  his  brother 
Henry  Pelham,  who  were  fast  acquiring  political  importance  from 
their  wealth,  and  from  their  prodigal  devotion  of  it  to  the  purchase 
of  parliamentary  support.  But  it  was  not  till  he  stood  utterly 
alone  that  Walpole  gave  way,  and  that  he  consented  in  1739 
to  a  war  against  Spain. 

His  subsequent  plans  for  a  European  coalition  to  oppose  the 
designs  of  France  and  the  Bourbons  against  Austria  broke  down  ; 
and  when,  in  1741,  he  advised  Maria  Theresa  to  purchase  the  aid 
of  Frederick  II.  of  Prussia  against  France  and  her  allies  by  the 
session  of  part  of  Silesia,  the  "Patriots"  spurred  the  Queen  to 
refusal  by  promising  her  England's  aid  in  the  recovery  of  her  full 
inheritance.  Admiral  Vernon  was  beaten  before  Carthagena ; 
Walpole  was  charged,  most  unjustly,  with  thwarting  and  starving 
his  operations ;  and  the  position  of  the  minister  was  made  still 
more  difficult  by  George  II.  hurrying  to  Hanover,  and  in  his 
dread  of  harm  to  his  hereditary  state,  averting  the  entry  of  a 
French  army  by  binding  himself  as  Elector  to  neutrality  in  the 
war — a  step  which,  notwithstanding  that  it  was  done  without 
Walpole's  knowledge,  was  laid  to  his  charge. 

Nugent  was  elected  for  St.  Mawe's  on  May  12,  and  the  new 
Parliament  met  at  Westminster  on  December  i,  1741.  Cornwall 
was  pretty  fully  represented  in  the  House  by  adherents  of  the 
Prince.  To  take  only  a  few,  we  find  at  Truro,  Charles  Hamilton, 
Clerk  of  the  Household  to  the  Prince,  James  Hammond,  Equerry 
to  the  Prince  ;  at  Bodmin,  Thomas  Laroche,  Groom  of  the  Bed- 
chamber to  the  Prince ;  at  Camelford,  Charles  Montague,  Auditor- 
General  to  the  Prince  for  the  County  of  Cornwall ;  and  at  St. 
Mawe's  (with  Nugent),  James  Douglass  or  Dowglas,  Comptroller 
of  the  Household  of  the  Prince.  In  this  Parliament,  Walpole 
found  his  majority  reduced  to  sixteen  ;  and  in  the  opening  of  1742 
it  dwindled  to  three,  and  he  resigned. 


32  MEMOIR  OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Nugent  was  living  on  terms  of  great  intimacy  with  the  Prince 
oT Wales;  and  as  the  Prince  lacked  money,  while  the  rollicking 
Irishman  was  wealthy,  they  soon  came  to  a  mutual  understanding. 
Nugent  was  made  Comptroller  of  the  Prince's  household  in  1747, 
and  was  always  nominated  to  high  office  in  his  royal  master's 
imaginary  administrations,  while  the  Prince  borrowed  large  sums 
of  money,  which,  though  never  repaid  during  his  lifetime,  were 
liquidated  by  George  III.  in  "places,  pensions,  and  peerages." 

It  was  early  in  the  following  year  (January  5,  1742)  that  the 
Bishop  of  Oxford,  Dr.  Seeker,  waited  on  the  Prince  of  Wales  at 
Carlton  House,  with  a  message  delivered  to  himself  (as  he  said) 
by  the  Earl  of  Cholmondeley,  from  his  Majesty,  to  the  effect,  that 
if  his  Royal  Highness  would  write  a  letter  of  condescension  to 
the  King,  his  Majesty  would  give  a  gracious  reception  to  him, 
his  friends,  those  of  his  councils,  and  servants,  who  should  all  be 
provided  for  in  due  time  ;  that  the  ^50,000  per  annum,  and  that 
all  his  debts  should  be  paid  with  all  convenient  speed.  To  this 
message  the  Prince,  no  doubt  feeling  himself  strong  enough, 
having  regard  to  Walpole's  waning  power,  replied  that  he  would 
embrace  the  first  proper  opportunity  to  throw  himself  at  his 
Majesty's  feet,  and  at  that  time  should  be  far  from  prescribing 
terms  for  himself  to  his  Majesty ;  but  that  he  could  not  come  to 
Court  while  Sir  Robert  Walpole  presided  in  his  Majesty's  councils; 
that  he  looked  upon  him  as  the  sole  author  of  our  grievances  at 
home,  and  of  our  ill-success  in  the  West  Indies ;  and  that  the 
disadvantageous  figure  we  then  made  in  the  Courts  of  Europe 
was  to  be  attributed  alone  to  him. 

On  February  3,  after  the  debate  on  the  Chippenham  election, 
the  Lord  Chancellor  signified  his  Majesty's  pleasure  that  both 
Houses  should  severally  adjourn.  On  the  8th,  Sir  Robert  was 
presented  at  Court  as  Earl  of  Orford.  He  was  persuaded  to 
refuse  a  grant  of  ^4000  a  year  during  the  King's  life  and  his  own, 
but  could  not  be  dissuaded  from  accepting  a  letter  of  honour  from 
the  King  to^  grant  his  natural  daughter,  Maria,  precedence  as  an 
earl's  daughter.  On  the  nth  he  resigned.  The  result  was 
rather  the  re-organization  of  the  old  Cabinet  than  the  formation 
of  a  new  one.  Pulteney,  the  head  of  the  "  Patriots,"  was  sent  for 
by  the  King,  but  would  accept  no  office,  contenting  himself  with 
a  peerage  and  a  seat  in  the  Cabinet,  Carteret  undertaking  the 
Foreign  Secretaryship.  This  arrangement,  although  made  by 
Pulteney  without  communicating  it  to  the  Prince,  received  the 
sanction  and  respect  of  the  latter,  although  numberless  jealousies 
were  excited  among  the  Tories  under  the  Duke  of  Argyll,  the 
Jacobites  and    Chesterfield,  Cobham,  the   Grenvilles,  Lyttleton, 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  33 

Pitt,  and  Dodington,  the  last-named  of  whom  had  not  yet  thrown 
in  his  lot  with  the  Prince. 

Nugent's  first  speech  in  the  House  appears  to  have  been  made 
in  the  famous  debate  on  taking  the  Hanoverian  troops  into  British 
pay.  Sir  William  Yonge  had  moved  the  grant  in  Committee, 
and  the  debate  had  been  continued  by  Sir  John  St.  Aubyn,  Waller, 
Horatio  Walpole,  Lord  Quarendon,  Henry  Fox,  Pitt,  Egmont, 
then  Lord  Percival,  and  George  Grenville,  Nugent  following 
Horatio  Walpole,  whom  he  attacked  severely  in  his  own  sentences. 
I  have  thought  it  necessary,  however,  to  give  no  more  than  the 
subjoined  extract.  The  date  is  December  10,  1742,  and  the 
report  is  by  Dr.  Johnson  in  the  Gentlema?i's  Magazine. 

"  Treason,"  Nugent  replied,  "  is  happily  defined  by  our  laws,  and 
therefore  every  man  may  know  when  he  is  about  to  commit  it,  and 
avoid  the  danger  of  punishment,  by  avoiding  the  act  which  will 
expose  him  to  it ;  but  with  regard  to  the  '  borders '  of  treason,  I 
believe  no  man  will  yet  pretend  to  say  how  far  they  extend,  or 
how  soon,  or  with  how  little  intention  he  may  tread  upon  them. 
Unhappy  would  be  the  man  who  should  be  punished  for  bordering 
upon  guilt,  of  which  those  fatal  borders  are  to  be  dilated  at  pleasure 
by  his  judges.  The  law  has  hitherto  supposed  every  man  who  is 
not  guilty  to  be  innocent ;  but  now  we  find  that  there  is  a  land 
of  medium,  in  which  a  man  may  be  in  danger  without  guilt,  and 
that  in  order  to  security,  a  new  degree  of  caution  is  become 
necessary  ;  for  not  only  crimes,  but  the  borders  of  crimes,  are  to 
be  avoided. 

"  What  improvements  may  be  made  upon  this  new  system,  how 
far  the  borders  of  treason  may  reach,  or  what  pains  and  penalties 
are  designed  for  the  borderers,  no  degree  of  human  sagacity  can 
enable  us  to  foresee.  Perhaps  the  borders  of  royalty  may  become 
sacred,  as  well  as  the  borders  of  treason  criminal;  and  as  every 
placeman,  pensioner,  and  minister  may  be  said  to  border  on  the 
Court,  a  kind  of  sanctity  may  be  communicated  to  his  character, 
and  he  that  lampoons  or  opposes  him  may  border  upon  treason." 

The  person  so  eloquently  defended  by  Nugent  was  afterwards 
discovered  to  be  no  less  a  person  than  Earl  Chesterfield,  who 
shared  the  authorship  of  the  pamphlet  with  Mr.  Waller.  The 
pamphlet  he  wrote  was  called  The  Case  of  the  Hanoverian  Forces 
in  the  Pay  of  Great  Britain^  and  Horatio  Walpole  took  so  great 
an  exception  to  it  as  to  declare  that  "a  price  should  be  put  upon 
the  author's  head,  and  the  same  reward  offered  for  discovering  him 
as  is  given  for  the  conviction  of  wretches  less  criminal ;  that  the 
lenity  of  the  Government  could  not  easily  be  distinguished  from 
supineness  and  negligence,  while  libels  like  this  were  sold  in  shops 

D 


34  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

without  fear  or  danger,  while  sedition  was  professedly  prompted, 
and  treason,  or  sentiments  very  nearly  bordering  upon  treason, 
propagated  without  disguise  !  "  The  great  impression  which  it 
made  upon  the  public  mind  led  him  to  answer  it  in  another 
pamphlet.  The  Interests  of  Great  Britain  steadily  pursued^  which 
passed  through  three  editions  in  as  many  weeks,  and  "  was  of 
considerable  service  in  removing  the  prejudices  excited  by  the 
declamation  of  opposition." 

In  1745  came  the  Ministry  of  Henry  Pelham.  The  general 
anger  at  the  increased  scope  of  the  war  proved  fatal  to  Carteret, 
who  had  now  become  Lord  Granville,  and  whose  imperious  temper 
had  made  him  hateful  to  his  colleagues.  Carteret  was  driven  from 
office  by  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  and  Henry  Pelham,  the  latter  of 
whom  headed  the  re-constituted  Ministry.  His  temper  disposed 
him  to  a  policy  of  conciliation  which  re-united  the  Whigs. 
Chesterfield  and  the  Whigs  in  opposition,  with  Pitt  and  the 
"  Boys,"  all  found  room  in  the  new  administration  j  and  even  a 
few  Tories  were  admitted. 

On  April  9  occurred  a  debate  in  the  Commons  on  the  Address 
for  Courts-martial  on   Admirals  Matthews,  Lestock,  and  others. 
This   arose   out   of  the   result  of  the  blockade  of  the  combined 
French  and  Spanish  fleets  in  Toulon  by  the  British   fleet  under 
Admiral    Matthews.     On   February  9   the  allied    fleets    had    en- 
deavoured to  escape,  and  a  general  engagement  followed.     Owing 
to  a   bitter   disagreement  between    Matthews  and    Lestock,   the 
battle  appears  to  have  been  grossly  mismanaged  by  the   English 
officers.     No  decisive   result  followed   the   first   day's  fight,   and 
early  the  next  morning  the  enemy  was  in  full  flight.     Consider- 
able ground  had  been  gained  in  pursuit,  when  the  English  vessels 
were  ordered  to  discontinue,  and  the  combined  fleets  made  good 
their  escape.     The  Admiral,  Matthews,  and  the   Vice-Admiral, 
Lestock,    mutually  accused   each   other,  and  an   Address   in   the 
Commons  for  Courts-martial  was  the  result.     Nugent  spoke  dis- 
cursively, and  expatiated  at  great  length  on  one  of  his  favourite 
subjects,  the  beneficial  effects  of  great  naval  power  on  trade  ;  he 
censured  the  conduct  of  the  engagement  with  great  acerbity,  and 
offered  himself,  in  the  absence  of  any  person  better  qualified  for 
so   important   an   undertaking,   to  "  propose  to   the    House  such 
terms  as  shall  appear  to  me  most  clear,  emphatical,  and  compre- 
hensive," and  expressed  a  "  hope  to  have  the  assistance  of  all  those 
who  desire  the  reparation  of  our  honour  and  the  revival  of  our 
virtue." 

He  was  followed  by  Mr.  George  Grenville,  then  known  as  one 
of  the  most  distinguished  of  the  "  Boy  Patriots,"  and  at  that  time 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  35 

a  lord  of  the  Admiralty,  who  spoke  in  high  praise  of  Nugent's 
arguments.  In  the  end  a  court-martial  was  held,  and  although 
grave  faults  appear  to  have  been  committed  on  both  sides.  Admiral 
Matthews  was  removed  from  the  service,  and  several  other  officers 
were  punished. 

In  1747  occurred  a  fresh  General  Election.  On  July  2  we  find 
Nugent  again  returned,  this  time  second  to  "  William  Clayton, 
Esq.,  commonly  called  Lord  Sundon."  That  Parliament  lasted 
till  1754. 

No  further  speech  of  Nugent's  is  reported  until  December 
1747,  when  a  Bill  was  presented  to  the  House  to  prohibit  insurance 
on  ships  belonging  to  France  for  French  merchandise  during  the 
war.  Nugent  warmly  supported  the  Bill,  and  dwelt  with  great 
eloquence  on  the  treasonable  nature  of  the  transactions  which 
the  Bill  sought  to  prohibit.  Murray,  then  Solicitor-General, 
opposed  him  at  great  length,  and  it  need  scarcely  be  said  with 
high  ability;  but  the  Bill  was  committed,  and  afterwards  passed 
without  division,  and  subsequently  became  law.  The  debates, 
however,  had  been  long  and  warm  too,  many  of  the  merchants 
in  the  House  of  Commons  undertaking  to  prove  that  the  nation 
received  (notwithstanding  all  the  sums  the  insurers  paid)  vast 
benefit  from  insuring  French  property. 

It  fell  to  Murray  also  to  answer  the  next  speech  of  Nugent's. 
This  was  in  the  debate  on  the  Address,  in  November  1748.  Lord 
Barrington  had  moved  the  Address,  which  had  been  seconded  by 
the  Hon.  Charles  Yorke,  the  second  son  of  Lord  Chancellor  Hard- 
wicke.  After  him  Nugent  was  the  first  speaker,  and  declared 
himself  dissatisfied  with  the  Address  as  being  "  a  great  deal  too 
long  and  too  particular."  He  did  not  wish  to  oppose  the  Address 
itself,  but  could  not  approve  of  the  insertion  of  any  words  "  which 
may  imply  the  most  distant  approbation  of  the  treaty  of  peace 
that  had  been  concluded,  because  neither  I,  nor  any  gentleman  in 
the  House,  can  as  yet  have  any  parliamentary  knowledge  of  that 
treaty,  and  because,  from  all  the  knowledge  I  have  of  it,  I  think 
it  the  worst  of  all  the  bad  treaties  England  ever  made."  This 
was  the  treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  which  had  been  signed  in  the 
preceding  October.  This  speech  was  doubtless  part  of  the 
policy  of  annoyance  dictated  by  the  Prince  of  Wales.  It  failed 
of  practical  effect,  since  the  Address  as  originally  moved  was 
passed  without  a  division. 

The  subject  of  Nugent's  next  speech  in  the  House  is  not  one  of 
general  interest,  though  in  the  course  of  the  debate,  which  engaged 
the  eloquence  of  Pitt,  and  Richard  and  George  Grenville,  the 
names  and  reputation  of  some  of  the  judges  were  severely  handled. 


36  MEMOIR  OF   EARL   NUGENT 

This  was  the  Bill  for  holding  summer  assizes  at  Buckingham,  and 
we  only  reproduce  now  the  peroration,  or  at  least  the  end  of 
Nugent's  speech,  in  the  shape  of  a  somewhat  humorous  allegory. 

"Sir,  I  cannot  avoid  recollecting  an  accident  that  happened 
last  summer  at  my  house  in  the  country.  Among  my  other 
visitors  I  had  an  old  sea-captain,  who  stayed  some  days  with  me. 
This  old  gentleman  had  been  in  many  tempests,  and  many  engage- 
ments at  sea,  but  was  never  shipwrecked  or  wounded,  nor  had 
ever  met  with  any  other  misfortune.  One  day  as  we  were  walk- 
ing upon  the  side  of  a  canal  I  have  there,  in  which  there  was  a 
little  cock-boat,  the  old  captain  took  it  into  his  head  to  get  into 
this  cock-boat  and  put  off  upon  the  canal.  I  apprized  him  of  his 
danger,  by  telling  him  the  boat  was  too  small,  and  besides,  almost 
as  old  as  himself ;  but  the  old  gentleman  was  obstinate.  Into  the 
boat  he  goes,  and  puts  off;  but  he  had  scarcely  got  into  the 
middle  of  the  canal,  when  down  he  goes,  boat  and  all  together, 
and  my  old  captain  was  not  only  ducked  over  head  and  ears, 
but  really  in  some  danger  of  being  drowned.  Let  our  ministers 
apply  this.  Sir  :  they  are  got  into  a  cock-boat ;  I  would  advise 
them  to  get  out  as  soon  as  they  can,  lest  they  should  meet  with 
some  disaster,  more  fatal  than  that  my  old  captain  met  with." 

We  may  now  fairly  turn  to  the  estimate  of  the  state  of  affairs 
between  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  the  Ministry  given  by  Mr. 
Smollett  in  his  History,  with  his  opinion  of  Nugent.^ 

"  The  Prince  of  Wales  held  a  Court  of  Stannary,  in  quality  of 
Duke  of  Cornwall,  and  revived  some  claims  attached  to  that 
dignity  which,  had  they  been  admitted,  would  have  greatly 
augmented  his  influence  among  the  Cornish  boroughs.  These 
efforts  aroused  the  jealousy  of  the  Administration,  which  had 
always  considered  them  as  an  interest  wholly  dependent  upon  the 
Crown  ',  and  therefore  the  pretentions  of  his  Royal  Highness 
were  opposed  by  the  whole  weight  of  the  Ministry.  His  ad- 
herents, resenting  these  hostilities  as  an  injury  to  their  royal 
master,  immediately  joined  the  remnant  of  the  former  opposition 
in  Parliament,  and  resolved  to  counteract  all  the  ministerial  mea- 
sures that  should  fall  under  their  cognizance ;  at  least,  they 
determined  to  seize  every  opportunity  of  thwarting  the  servants 
of  the  Crown,  in  every  scheme  or  proposal  that  had  not  an 
evident  tendency  to  the  advantage  of  the  nation.  This  band  of 
auxiliaries  was  headed  by  the  Earl  of  E 1,^  Dr.  Lee,  and   Mr. 

^  Smollett's  continuation  of    Hume's   History    of  England,  iv.  4 
(1805  ed.). 

2  Lord  Egmont. 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  37 

N 1.  .  .  .1      Mr.  N 1  was  an  orator  of  middling  abilities, 

who  harangued  upon  all  subjects  indiscriminately,  and  supplied 
with  confidence  what  he  wanted  in  capacity  :  he  had  been  at 
some  pains  to  study  the  business  of  the  House,  as  well  as  to  under- 
stand the  machine  of  Government  ;  and  was  tolerably  well  heard, 
as  he  generally  spoke  with  an  appearance  of  good  humour,  and 
hazarded  every  whimsical  idea  as  it  arose  in  his  imagination.  But 
Lord  Bolingbrolce  is  said  to  have  been  the  chief  spring  which,  in 
secret,  actuated  the  deliberations  of  the  Prince's  Court.  That 
nobleman,  seemingly  sequestered  from  the  tumults  of  a  public  life, 
resided  at  Battersea,  where  he  was  visited  like  a  sainted  shrine  by 
all  the  distinguished  votaries  of  wit,  eloquence,  and  political  am- 
bition. There  he  was  cultivated  and  admired  for  the  elegance  of 
his  manners  and  the  charms  of  his  conversation.  The  Prince's 
curiosity  was  first  captivated  by  his  character,  and  his  esteem  was 
afterwards  secured  by  the  irresistible  address  of  that  extraordinary 
personage,  who  continued  in  a  regular  progression  to  insinuate 
himself  still  further  and  further  into  the  good  graces  of  his  royal 
patron.  How  far  the  conduct  of  his  Royal  Highness  was  guided 
by  this  nobleman  we  shall  not  pretend  to  determine,  but  certain 
it  is,  the  friends  of  the  Ministry  propagated  a  report  that  he  was 
the  dictator  of  those  measures  which  the  Prince  adopted  ;  and 
that,  under  the  specious  pretext  of  attachment  to  the  heir-apparent 
of  the  Crown,  he  concealed  his  real  aim,  which  was  to  perpetuate 
the  breach  in  the  Royal  Family." 

It  was  in  1749  that  that  extraordinary  creature,  George  Bubb 
Dodington,  afterwards  Lord  Melcombe  Regis,  finding  the  state 
of  his  health  incompatible  with  further  service  under  the  Crown, 
entered  into  that  of  the  Prince  of  Wales.  He  must  have  seen  a 
good  deal  of  Nugent,  although  the  references  to  the  latter  are  not 
of  great  frequency.  An  entry  in  his  diary  under  date  November 
15,  1749,  runs — "Dined  at  Carleton  House.  The  Prince,  Earls 
of  Carlisle  and  Egmont,  Lord  Chief-Justice  Wilks,  Lord  Balti- 
more, Sir  John  Rushout,  Messrs.  Gibbon,  Lee,  Henley,  Nugent, 
Sir  Thomas  Bootle  and  I.  Agreed  not  to  oppose  the  Address, 
unless  there  should  be  something  very  strong  in  it." 

Apparently  there  was  something  "  very  strong  in  it,"  for  Lord 
Egmont  the  next  day  made  a  violent  and  very  injudicious  speech 
against  the  Address,  throwing  out  everything  he  could  think  of 
or  had  heard  against  the  Ministry.  Lord  Baltimore  said  but  little 
on  the  same  side,  and  so  the  matter  dropped,  and  the  Address  was 
voted. 

^  Mr.  Nugent. 


38  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

It  was  not  to  be  supposed  that  Dodington's  sudden  accession  to 
princely  favour  would  pass  unnoticed  among  so  astute  and 
experienced  a  body  of  intriguers  as  the  coterie  which  then 
surrounded  Frederick.  Efforts  were  speedily  made  to  render  him 
ridiculous  or  uncomfortable  or  both,  and  Nugent  seems  to  have 
been  implicated  in  the  plot.  Dodington's  diary  supplies  the 
details. 

"  1750,  Feb.  4.  Lord  Middlesex,  by  the  Prince's  order,  showed 
me  a  motion  to  be  made  the  next  day,  for  an  account  of  the  state 
of  the  port  of  Dunkirk,  and  the  papers  that  had  passed  on  that 
Subject.  It  was  agreed  that  I  should  wait  on  the  Prince  the 
next  day. 

"  Feb.  5.  I  waited  on  his  Royal  Highness,  and  told  him  that  I 
was  come  to  thank  him  for  communicating  the  motion  to  me, 
which  was  more  than  any  of  my  fellow-servants  had  condescended 
to  do,  since  I  came  into  his  service.  He  made  me  a  very 
embarrassed  and  perplexed  answer.  I  then  proceeded  to  say,  that 
I  had  not  been  idle,  but  had  been  looking  into  several  things,  in 
order  to  form  something  proper  to  be  laid  before  Parliament. 
That  I  had  long  had  this  particular  point  of  Dunkirk  under 
consideration  ;  was  determined  to  be  at  the  expense  to  know,  and 
to  procure  evidence  of  the  state  of  it,  but  my  acquaintance  lay  so 
much  out  of  the  mercantile  way  that  I  was  at  a  loss  to  know  how 
to  go  about  it;  that  I  had  pitched  upon  Mr.  Sheriff  Jansen,  being  a 
trader  himself,  and  much  conversant  in  trade,  as  a  proper  person 
to  inform  and  assist  me;  that  the  great  sickness  he  fell  into  had 
till  now  disabled  him  from  going  out,  and  that  yesterday  was  the 
first  time  I  could  get  him  to  dinner.  That  I  supposed,  that 
though  I  was  so  unfortunate  as  not  to  be  ready,  his  Royal 
Highness  was  well  informed  of  all  things  necessary  to  make  out 
the  charge,  etc.  He  said.  No ;  but  the  throwing  it  out  would 
make  the  Ministry  feel  that  they  had  the  corde  au  col^  and  it  was 
an  opportunity  to  abuse  them,  etc.  I  said  that  my  idea  had  been 
to  bring  something  of  national  weight,  which  I  could  fix  by 
undeniable  evidence  upon  them  and  leave  it  there.  That  if  I 
could  have  brought  this  affair  up  to  that  point,  then  I  had 
designed  to  lay  it  before  his  Royal  Highness,  with  this  only  remark, 
how  far  he  thought  proper  to  venture  the  consequences  with 
France,  in  the  present  condition  of  the  country.  He  said,  the 
Tories  wanted  something  to  be  done,  and  if  he  did  not  do  some- 
thing, they  immediately  thought  he  was  negociating.  I  told  him 
also,  that  I  had  been  for  some  time  getting  such  lights  as  I  could 
into  the  affair  of  Nova  Scotia  ;  that  I  designed  to  lay  it  before 
him,  when  I  had  thought  it  worthy  of  his  consideration,  but  it 


MEMOIR   OF  EARL   NUGENT  39 

was  my  misfortune  to  think  that  it  was  necessary  to  be  armed 
with  full  proof  and  conviction  of  every  sort  of  the  charge,  before 
we  brought  it  into  the  House.  Upon  that  foot  I  submitted,  that 
in  case  upon  this  question  of  Dunkirk,  it  should  come  out  that 
the  port  was  left  just  in  the  same  condition  it  remained  under  the 
treaty  of  Utrecht,  without  any  innovation  since  the  war  (the 
Ministry  not  having  already  enforced  a  stricter  execution  of  that 
treaty,  than  ever  had  been  enforced),  it  would  not,  I  feared,  make 
a  very  strong  point  against  them.  He  was  pleased  to  say.  No,  to 
be  sure,  so  long  an  acquaintance  would  greatly  diminish  the 
objection.  Upon  these  words  I  left  him,  and  went  directly  to 
the  House.  In  the  debate  I  argued  against  the  inexpediency  and 
dangers  (which  were  the  objections  set  up  by  the  Court  to 
granting  these  papers)  that  there  could  be  nojie^  because  if  it 
appeared  that  there  had  been  no  innovation  since  the  war,  and  that 
the  post  was  in  the  state  it  had  remained  under  the  Treaty  of 
Utrecht — though  I  did  not  give  it  up,  but  still  did  insist  we  had  a 
right  to  a  fuller  execution  of  that  treaty  confirmed  by  this,  and 
therefore  I  did  not  give  it  up.  Yet,  if  that  appeared  to  be  the 
case,  no  danger  or  inconveniency  could  arise  from  the  motion, 
because  I  was  sure  that  I,  for  one,  would  not,  and  I  believed  that 
no  gentleman,  upon  that  account,  would  move  anything,  that 
might  occasion  a  rupture  with  France. 

"  At  the  end  of  the  debate.  Lord  Egmont,  who  made  the  motion, 
recapitulated  what  had  been  said  against  it.  He  began  by  going 
out  of  his  way  to  say  that  he  must  first  declare  that  he  was  sorry 
to  differ  with  me,  but  did  not  agree  that  it  would  be  sufficient  to 
excuse  the  Ministry,  if  it  should  appear,  as  I  had  stated  it,  that 
things  had  remained  at  Dunkirk  as  they  were  before  the  war,  etc. 
I  was  much  surprised  at  this,  considering  the  expressions  of  his 
Royal  Highness  a  few  hours  before.  We  were  beat  by  a  very 
great  majority.  This  night  was  published  the  vilest  and  most 
rancorous  pamphlet  against  me  that,  I  believe,  any  age  or  country 
can  show  ;  the  author  of  it  taking,  by  implication,  the  character 
of  being  in  the  Prince's  service. 

"  Feb.  6.  Went  to  Lord  Middlesex  with  the  words  (as  near  as  I 
could  recollect)  written  down  which  I  used  in  the  debate,  and 
which  he  had  heard.  He  a2:reed  to  them.  I  then  desired  him  to 
lay  them  before  the  Prince  (who  was  at  Kew,  and  was  come  to 
see  Lady  Middlesex  on  her  miscarriage),  and  in  my  name  to 
complain,  both  of  the  pamphlet,  and  of  the  behaviour  I  met  with 
— which  he  undertook.  Mr.  Ralph  and  Dr.  Sharpe  came  after 
dinner ;  much  conversation  about  the  pamphlet,  which  Lord 
Middlesex  told  me  in  the   morning  the   Prince    had   told   Lady 


40  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Middlesex  (before  he  went  to  Kew)  was  sent  him  in  a  letter  on 
Friday  night ;  that  he  was  much  incensed  at  it ;  that  he  had  im- 
mediately sent  to  Mr.  Nugent,  examined  him  upon  it,  and  he  had 
absolutely  denied  it  with  detestation  and  abhorrence  ;  that  he  had 
questioned  the  Earl  of  Egmont  upon  it,  who  had  done  the  same, 
Mr.  Furnese  came,  who  had  had  a  conversation  with  Lord  Balti- 
more of  his  (Lord  Baltimore's)  own  seeking  when  in  wine,  and 
renewed  when  sober,  in  which  that  Lord  declared  that  there  was  a 
combination  of  the  whole  family  against  me,  that  they  were,  as 
he  said,  in  a  round  Robin  ;  that  I  endeavoured  to  govern  and 
supplant  them;  that  they  talked  of  me  with  the  utmost  inveteracy; 
that  he  was  my  friend,  but,  however,  he  would  keep  his  connec- 
tions, etc." 

And  so  the  affair  went  on,  the  Prince  evidently  wishing  to 
retain  the  services  of  a  valuable  ally,  and  "  the  family  "  equally 
obviously  desirous  to  be  rid  of  him,  but  shrinking  from  giving 
open  expression  to  their  dislike.  On  the  ninth,  Dodington,  still 
bursting  to  make  a  communication  to  the  Prince,  is  allowed  to  do 
so  in  the  presence  of  Dr.  Lee.     He  goes  on — 

"  That  I  must,  in  the  first  place,  return  my  most  humble  thanks 
for  the  indignation  he  had  expressed  against  the  vile  and  rancorous 
pamphlet  which  had  been  published  against  me,  etc.  He  said 
that,  as  soon  as  it  was  sent  to  him  he  saw  that  it  was  designed  to 
personate  Mr.  Nugent ;  that  he  immediately  sent  for  him,  who 
denied  every  part  of  it  with  the  utmost  abhorrence  ;  that  Lord 
Egmont  did  the  same,  etc.,  just  as  Lord  Middlesex  related.  I 
replied  that  I  had  never  thought  so  basely  of  either  of  them  as  to 
suspect  them  ;  that  if  I  had  been  so  injurious  to  either,  yet  after 
so  solemn  a  denial  before  the  highest  tribunal  their  master,  their 
prince,  near  being  their  king,  every  trace  or  thought  of  such  a 
suspicion  must  be  for  ever  laid  out  of  the  question  ;  but  that  it 
was  evident  that  the  character  assumed  was  of  one  of  the  family." 

Dodington  then  affects  to  believe  that  none  of  "  the  family"  is 
implicated  in  the  libel,  but  shrewdly  recognizes  that  he  is  not 
liked  by  its  members,  and  that  there  is,  in  fact,  a  combination 
against  him,  and  lightly  blames  the  Prince  for  having  led  him  into 
a  false  position.  Here,  so  far  as  we  know,  ends  the  episode  of  the 
scurrilous  pamphlet. 

Prior  to  this,  however,  Nugent  had  spoken  thrice.  Once  on 
a  grant  to  be  made  to  the  city  of  Glasgow  for  losses  sustained 
during  the  Rebellion,  which  he  opposed  with  some  very  shrewd 
reasoning,  although  the  Resolution  appears  to  have  passed  without 
a  division.  This  was  in  April  1749.  The  opposition  was  one  of 
the  Prince's  party  who  thought  that  the  city  of  Glasgow  had  no 


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ELIZABETH,   COUNTESS   OF   BERKLEY 
Frotn  an  Engraving  after  a  Painting  by  Sir  Joshua  Reynohis 


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MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  41 

particular  claim  of  favour  prior  to  that  of  other  places  in  the  United 
Kingdom  ;  some  of  the  members  from  the  northern  counties  of 
England,  through  which  the  rebels  had  marched,  observing  that  if 
every  place  that  had  suffered  from  them  were  to  bring  in  a  bill  of 
their  damages  the  expense  would  be  endless. 

The  other  occasions  were  debatings  on  the  number  of  seamen. 
Lord  Harrington  having  moved  that  10,000  men  be  emploved  for 
the  Sea  Service  for  the  year  1750,  and  on  the  Mutiny  Act. 
Nugent  admitted  the  imperative  necessity  of  frugality,  but  pleaded 
with  great  cogency  and  keen  common-sense,  for  the  preservation 
of  our  strength  at  sea.  Nearly  30,000  men  he  stated  had  already 
been  disbanded  from  the  navy  ;  "  and  if  we  now  add  5000  more  to 
that  number,  God  knows  how  many  of  them  may  put  it  out  of 
our  power  ever  again  to  press  them  into  our  service ;  for  whatever 
opinion  we  may  have  of  their  merit,  every  one  knows  that  it  has 
justice  done  to  it  by  those  who  are  our  most  dangerous  rivals  in 
naval  power,  and  who  now  at  last  seemed  to  have  learned  that  it 
is  impossible  to  have  either  commerce  or  colonies,  without  a  suf- 
ficient naval  force  to  protect  them  in  time  of  war  " — an  utterance 
which  has  lost  nothing  of  point  or  significance  even  at  the  present 
day.  The  speech  on  the  Mutiny  Bill,  which  exhibits  consider- 
able argumentative  abiHty,  is  chiefly  remarkable  as  having  been  in 
opposition  to  Sir  Henry  Fox's  plea  for  an  oath  of  secrecy  at  courts- 
martial.     This  was  on  January  23,  1750. 

Then  follows  the  famous  debate  on  the  port  and  harbour  of 
Dunkirk,  of  which  Dodington  complains.  Nugent's  contribu- 
tion to  it  was  very  able,  but  it  was  also  very  long,  and  no  purpose 
can  be  served  by  quoting  it  here.  In  the  debate  on  the  number 
of  seamen  for  the  year  1751,  Nugent  followed  the  same  course  he 
had  adopted  in  the  estimates  for  the  preceding  year.  Lord  Har- 
rington proposed  to  employ  only  8000  seamen,  and  Nugent 
declared  that  20,000  seamen  was  the  least  the  Government  should 
always  have  in  its  service.  In  that  respect,  and  his  general  sup- 
port of  the  commercial  interests  of  the  country,  Nugent's  consist- 
ency seems  to  have  been  unimpeachable. 

In  January  1751  (i6th)  we  find  Nugent  still  on  terms  with 
the  Prince,  and  dining  at  "  Carleton  "  House  with  the  Prince, 
Lords  Granby,  Middlesex,  Carlisle,  Egmont,^  Limerick,  Sir  John 
Rushout,  Sir  Thomas  Bootle,  Dr.  Lee,  Messrs.  Bathurst,  Henley, 
Gibbon,  and  Dodington. 

The  Prince  of  Wales  died  on  March  20,  1751,  and  Nugent 
made  his  peace  with  the  Pelham  Ministry. 

^  John,  second  Earl. 


42  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

"  The  year  1753,"  says  Lord  Campbell,  "  is  memorable  in  the  life 
of  Lord  Hardwicke,  by  his  Jew  Bill  and  his  Marriage  Bill,  for 
both  of  which  I  think  he  deserves  credit.  PVom  the  fatuous  fears 
and  furious  cries  which  the  former  occasioned,  it  has  generally 
been  represented  as  'a  bill  by  its  own  vigour  at  once  to  confer  all 
the  rights  of  natural  born  British  subjects  on  all  foreign  Jews  who 
might  set  foot  on  English  ground  ; '  whereas  it  merely  allowed 
bills  to  be  brought  in  for  naturalizing  Jews  without  their  having 
the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  according  to  the  rites  of  the 
Church  of  England,  or,  in  other  words,  to  allow  that  a  Jew  might 
be  naturalized  by  Act  of  Parliament.  After  some  sharp  debates 
the  Bill  passed  both  Houses,  and  received  the  royal  assent,  but, 
from  there  being  no  reports  of  parliamentary  proceedings  printed, 
its  nature  was  so  grossly  misrepresented,  that  great  odium  was  cast 
upon  the  Chancellor  as  its  author;  and  the  Bishop  of  Norwich, 
who  voted  for  it,  soon  after,  holding  a  confirmation,  was  called 
upon  by  the  mob  'to  administer  the  rite  of  circumcision,'  and  a 
paper  was  affixed  to  the  church  doors,  stating  that  'next  day 
being  Saturday,  his  Lordship  would  confirm  the  Jews,  and  on  the 
following  day,  the  Christians.'  Such  was  the  ferment  in  the 
nation  that  ministers  became  alarmed — particularly  as  a  general 
election  was  approaching — and  in  a  very  dastardly  manner  they 
agreed  to  abandon  this  measure,  which,  if  persisted  in,  might  have 
introduced,  upon  reflection,  a  more  liberal  feeling  into  the  public 
mind,  and  accelerated  by  a  century  the  religious  freedom  which 
we  now  enjoy." 

The  following  is  Nugent's  contribution  to  the  debate  on  the 
Jews'  Naturalization  Bill,^  delivered  April  17,  1753 — 

"Sir,  although  it  is  not  very  usual  or  proper  to  take  notice  in 
this  House  of  what  passed  in  the  other,  yet  the  hon.  gentleman 
who  spoke  last  obliges  me  to  notice  it  so  far  as  to  observe,  to  the 
honour  of  the  reverend  bench,  that  the  Bill  now  before  us  was 
opposed  by  very  few  of  them.  On  the  contrary,  it  was  strenuously 
supported  by  some  of  them,  which  shews,  that  our  present  set  of 
bishops  have  thrown  ofi:'  those  old  prejudices,  and  that  persecuting 
spirit,  which  has  for  so  many  ages  been  the  bane  of  Christianity; 
and  that  they  have  embraced  those  truly  Christian  principles, 
which  so  strongly  inculcate  humility,  meekness  and  charity,  and 
teach  us  to  love  even  our  enemies.  But,  Sir,  it  was  not  only  from 
the  fundamental  principles  of  Christianity  that  they  supported  this 
Bill,  for  in  duty  to  their  religion  they  were  bound  to  support,  and 

^  Debate  in  the  Commons  on  the  Jews'  Naturalization  Bill,  April 
I7»  ^UZ' 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  43 

to  contribute  as  much  as  in  them  lay  towards  its  being  passed  into 
a  law,  because  it  will  tend  towards  the  propagation  of  the  religion 
they  profess,  and  because  it  will  prevent  the  profanation  of  one  of 
the  most  sacred  and  solemn  mysteries  of  our  holy  religion. 

"As  to  the  propagation  of  the  Christian  religion,  Sir,  I  do  not  think 
there  is  anything  that  will  contribute  more  towards  the  conversion 
of  the  Jews  than  that  of  freeing  them  from  all  manner  of  persecution, 
and  empowering,  and  even  inviting,  them  to  become  purchasers  of 
land  estates.  From  all  histories  we  may  learn,  that  persecution  on 
one  side  begets  obstinacy  on  the  other  ;  and  from  late  experience 
we  may  be  convinced,  that  a  general  indulgence  promotes  a  free 
enquiry,  and  prepares  the  way  for  reason  and  sound  argument, 
which  will  always  at  last  prevail,  when  the  stumbling-blocks  of 
passion  and  prejudice  are  removed.  Besides  this.  Sir,  there  is  a 
fashion  in  religion  as  well  as  in  everything  else:  it  is  unfashionable 
to  be  of  a  religion  different  from  that  established  in  the  country  in 
which  we  live;  and  even  in  this  country  there  are  many  advantages 
attending  a  man's  being  of  the  established  religion ;  for  unless  he 
is,  he  can  neither  be  a  magistrate  of  any  city  or  borough,  nor  can 
he  hold  any  office  of  honour  or  profit  under  our  Government. 
And  as  I  am  fully  convinced,  that  reason  and  solid  argument  are 
on  the  side  of  our  established  religion,  I  am  therefore  of  opinion, 
that  as  soon  as  we  have  removed  passion  and  prejudice  by  indulg- 
ence, reason  and  solid  argument,  with  the  assistance  of  fashion, 
and  the  advantages  to  be  acquired  by  yielding  to  them,  will  at  last 
prevail  ;  and  that  the  son  or  grandson  of  every  Jew  who  becomes 
a  landholder,  if  not  the  purchaser  himself,  will  embrace  Christianity, 
and  declare  himself  of  the  religion  established  by  law.  In  this 
opinion,  Sir,  I  am  confirmed  by  the  example  of  what  has  passed 
in  Ireland  ;  for  most  of  the  landholders  in  that  kingdom  are 
now  become  Protestants.  The  farmers  indeed  and  cottagers, 
at  least  such  as  are  originally  Irish,  and  too  many  of  the  tradesmen 
in  their  cities  and  villages,  continue  still  to  be  Papists,  but  most 
of  the  landholders  have  now,  thank  God  !  abandoned  that  super- 
stitious religion  ;  and  I  do  not  at  all  wonder  at  it ;  for  it  is  so 
much  in  the  nature  of  mankind,  whether  Christian,  Jew,  or  Gentile, 
after  they  become  possessed  of  opulent  land  estates,  to  aim  at 
honours  and  preferments,  and  to  hate  being  out  of  the  fashion, 
that  nothing  can  prevent  their  complying  with  this  human  passion, 
but  a  superstitious  bigotry,  founded  upon  ignorance,  and  raised  to 
the  summit  of  enthusiastic  madness  by  persecution. 

"Now,  Sir,  with  regard  to  the  profanation  of  one  of  the  most 
sacred  mysteries  of  our  religion  :  by  the  law,  as  it  now  stands,  no 
Jew  can  be  naturalized,  without  first  receiving  the  Sacrament  of 


44  MEMOIR   OF   EARL  NUGENT 

the  Lord's  Supper  according  to  the  rites  and  ceremonies  of  the 
Church  of  England,  or  in  some  Protestant  church  or  chapel  : 
would  it  not  be  a  most  abominable  profanation  of  this  holy  mystery 
to  admit  any  Jew,  still  continuing  in  his  heart  a  Jew,  to  be  a 
partaker  in  this  mystery  ?  In  the  Jew  himself,  indeed,  it  would 
be  no  profanation,  because  he  did  not  believe  there  was  anything 
religious  or  sacred  in  the  ceremony  ;  but  in  Christians,  who  lay 
him  under  the  necessity  to  do  so,  it  is  a  profanation,  and  in  my 
opinion  a  very  heinous  offence  against  the  religion  we  profess. 
To  avoid  this  for  the  future  was,  I  am  persuaded,  a  prevailing 
argument  with  the  reverend  bench  in  the  other  House,  and  I 
think  it  ought  to  be  a  prevailing  argument  in  favour  of  the  Bill 
with  every  true  Christian  in  this. 

"  Thus,  Sir,  I  hope  I  have  shown,  that  what  is  proposed  by  this 
Bill  is  so  far  from  being  inconsistent  with  our  religion,  that  it  is 
absolutely  necessary  for  preventing  a  very  great  abuse,  and  an 
abuse  that  has  actually  been  practised,  if  I  am  rightly  informed  ; 
for  I  have  been  told  that  in  King  William's  time,  there  were 
some  Jews  who  actually  complied  with  the  law,  by  receiving  the 
Sacrament,  in  order  to  their  being  naturalized  ;  and,  indeed,  I  do 
not  see  how  any  clergyman  of  our  Established  Church  can  safely 
refuse  administering  the  Sacrament  to  any  man  who  requires  it, 
if  he  professes  himself  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  cannot  be 
accused  of  having  been  guilty  of  any  heinous  offence ;  for  even  a 
reputed  Jew  may  have  privately  received  baptism  and  confirmation, 
without  its  being  known  to  the  clergyman  from  whom  he  requires 
the  Sacrament ;  and  it  is  now,  I  think,  admitted,  that  a  clergyman 
is  liable  to  an  action  if  he  refuses  administering  the  Sacrament 
without  just  cause,  and  the  person  requiring  it  suffers  damage  by 
such  refusal. 

"I  have  likewise  shewn,  I  hope.  Sir,  that  the  passing  of  this  Bill 
into  a  law  may  contribute  towards  the  propagation  of  our  religion, 
by  converting  many  of  the  richest  Jew  families,  which  would  of 
course  produce  the  conversion  of  many  of  the  poor  ;  and  it  can  be 
of  no  dangerous  consequence  to  our  religion  ;  for  I  never  heard 
that  the  Jews  busied  themselves  in  making  converts  either  in  this 
country  or  any  other,  and,  I  believe,  we  have  no  reason  to 
apprehend  that  any  Englishman  will  submit  to  be  circumcised,  or 
swear  never  to  taste  a  Yorkshire  ham,  or  a  bit  of  good  pork  or 
bacon.  Therefore,  this  Bill  is  so  far  from  being  inconsistent  with 
the  prophecies  relating  to  the  Jews,  that  in  my  opinion  it  has  a 
tendency  towards  the  completion  of  them  :  I  hope  the  time  is 
now  come,  or  near  coming,  when  the  times  of  the  Gentiles  are  to 
be  fulfilled,  and  not  only  the  Jews  but  all  the  Gentiles  converted 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  45 

to  the  Christian  faith  ;  for  though  no  one  can  with  any  certainty- 
point  out  the  ways  of  Providence,  yet  from  experience  we  may 
see,  that  universal  charity  and  indulgence,  which  are  so  pathetic- 
ally recommended  by  the  Christian  religion,  is  the  most  effectual 
method  for  inducing  all  men  to  submit  to  reason  and  the  true 
principles  of  the  Christian  religion,  as  now  professed  in  this  kingdom. 
"  But  it  is  not  only  to  our  religion.  Sir,  that  this  Bill,  if  passed 
into  a  law,  may  be  of  advantage  ;  it  will,  likewise,  be  of  great 
advantage  to  the  State,  and  to  the  nation  and  people  in  general. 
The  Jews,  Sir,  by  their  knowledge  in  trade,  and  their  correspond- 
ence over  the  whole  known  world,  have  been  of  great  service  in 
all  countries  where  they  have  been  encouraged  to  settle.  They 
contributed  greatly  towards  the  establishment  of  the  Dutch  trade 
and  commerce  in  the  infancy  of  that  wise  republic  ;  and  it  was 
they  chiefly  that  raised  the  city  of  Amsterdam  to  that  height  of 
splendour  and  riches  at  which  it  is  now  arrived.  On  the  other 
hand,  we  know  that  Spain  and  Portugal  have  been  in  some 
measure  ruined  by  banishing  them  their  country  ;  for  neither  of 
these  kingdoms  have  now  any  trade  but  to  their  own  colonies,  and 
even  a  great  part  of  that  is  carried  on  by  foreigners  under  the 
borrowed  names  of  Spaniards  or  Portuguese.  But,  Sir,  we  need 
not  go  beyond  sea  to  look  for  the  advantage  a  nation  may  read 
from  having  the  Jews  settled  in  it  ;  for  ever  since  they  were 
readmitted  into  this  country,  they  have  been  in  many  respects 
useful  to  us.  In  the  reign  of  Charles  II.,  when  they  began  again 
to  settle  in  this  country,  they  contributed  greatly  to  increase  our 
exports  ;  though  but  a  few  of  them  were  admitted  by  letters  of 
denization  from  the  King,  with  a  non  obstante  clause  in  each  for 
freeing  them  from  the  payment  of  the  aliens'  duty  ;  yet  before  the 
Revolution  they  began  to  have  a  large  concern  in  our  foreign 
trade.  Of  this  we  have  an  incontestable  proof  upon  record  ;  for 
these  non  obstante  clauses  being  at  the  Revolution  deemed  and 
declared  to  be  illegal,  a  question  arose,  whether  these  Jew  denizens 
were  liable  to  aliens'  duty,  and  an  action  was  brought  against  some 
of  them  for  no  less  a  sum  than  ^58,000  for  goods  they  had 
imported  and  exported  during  the  year  1689,  which  shews  how 
much  the  few  Jews  we  had  then  among  us  contributed  to  the 
increase  of  our  trade  and  commerce  -,  for  we  cannot  reckon  the 
value  of  the  goods  imported  and  exported  by  them  within  that 
time  at  less  than  double  the  sum  laid  in  the  information  brought 
against  them.  And  since  the  Revolution  we  all  know  how  useful 
they  have  been,  both  by  exporting  our  manufactures,  and  by 
supplying  our  Government  with  large  sums  of  money  for  carrying 
on  the  expensive  wars  we  have  been  necessarily  engaged  in. 


46  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

"From  what  is  past,  therefore,  Sir,  we  may  judge  with  some 
certainty  of  what  is  to  come,  and,  consequently,  of  what  will  be 
the  effect  of  the  Bill  now  before  us,  if  passed  into  a  law.  In  my 
opinion,  it  will  bring  rich  Jews  from  all  parts  of  the  world  to 
settle  amongst  us,  which,  besides  increasing  our  trade,  will  be  of 
great  use  to  the  State,  whether  we  continue  in  peace,  or  be  again 
involved  in  war.  If  we  continue  in  peace,  such  an  accession  of 
wealth  will  reduce  the  interest  payable  upon  our  public  funds  below 
what  it  is  to  be  by  the  laws  now  in  being,  at  the  same  time  that 
the  consumption  of  these  new  families  will  increase  the  produce  of 
the  taxes  appropriated  to  the  payment  of  these  funds  ;  and  if  we 
should  be  unhappily  engaged  in  a  new  war,  this  Bill  will  then 
appear  to  be  not  only  useful  but  necessary;  for  as  we  can  carry  on 
no  war  without  borrowing  money  yearly,  we  must  find  lenders  as 
well  as  funds,  and  this  Bill  will  furnish  us  with  a  number  of  persons 
who  have  money  to  lend,  and  at  the  same  time  encourage  and 
enable  them  to  come  and  spend  the  yearly  interest  of  their  money 
amongst  us.  That  this  Bill  will  be  of  advantage  to  the  State  is, 
therefore,  evident ;  and  it  is  as  evident,  I  think,  that  it  will  be  of 
advantage  to  our  landholders,  by  raising  the  price  of  lands  over  the 
whole  kingdom,  which  will  of  course  occasion  their  improvement  ; 
for  if  a  landholder,  by  laying  out  ^looo  upon  improving  his 
estate,  can  add  ;^50  a  year  to  his  income,  and  cannot  add  above 
j^30  a  year  by  laying  out  the  same  sum  of  money  upon  a  new 
purchase,  he  will  certainly  improve  rather  than  purchase  -,  and  the 
improvement  is  not  only  an  advantage  to  the  nation  in  general, 
but  furnishes  employment  for  numbers  of  our  laborious  poor, 
neither  of  which  is  the  consequence  of  a  man's  making  a  new 
purchase.  Then,  with  regard  to  our  farmers,  the  accession  of  a 
number  of  rich  families  will  of  course  procure  them  a  better 
market  for  the  produce  of  their  farms  ;  and  our  manufacturers  of 
all  kinds  will  reap  an  advantage  not  only  by  the  increase  of  the 
consumption  of  their  manufactures  at  home,  but  also  by  the 
increase  of  their  exportation  abroad.  In  short.  Sir,  I  know  no  set 
of  men  in  the  kingdom  that  will  not  be  benefited  by  this  Bill, 
except  those  merchants  and  shopkeepers  who  love  to  deal  at  an 
extravagant  profit  ;  but  such  men,  surely,  deserve  no  encourage- 
ment, much  less  any  privilege  from  the  public.  Thus,  Sir,  if  we 
regard  our  interest,  we  must,  I  think,  be  for  passing  this  Bill  into 
a  law." 

Sir  John  Barnard — 

"  Sir,  I  am  sorry  I  should  find  myself  under  a  necessity  to  speak 
against  those  I  have  long  lived  and  conversed  with,  and  for  many 
of  whom  I  have  a  particular  esteem  ;  but  whilst  I  have  the  honour 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  47 

of  a  seat  in  this  House,  no  personal  friendships  or  connections  shall 
induce  me  to  keep  silence,  when  I  see  anything  brought  into  this 
House,  which,  I  think,  will  be  not  only  injurious  but  dishonourable  to 
my  country.  If  this  Bill  had  been  general  :  if  it  had  been  a  Bill 
to  open  a  way  for  the  naturalization  of  all  Mahometans,  and  Pagans, 
as  well  as  Jews,  I  should  more  readily  have  agreed  to  it,  because  it 
would  not  have  brought  such  a  reflection  upon  us  as  Christians  : 
such  a  general  Bill,  like  the  late  Bill  for  a  general  naturalization 
of  all  foreign  Protestants,  might  have  been  deemed  to  proceed,  as 
that  Bill  did,  from  some  mistaken  maxim  in  politics  ;  but  to  give 
a  particular  invitation  to  the  Jews,  really  seems  as  if  we  contemned, 
and  were  resolved  to  abandon,  the  religion  we  now  profess.  The 
Jews,  Sir,  are,  and  always  have  been,  the  most  professed  enemies  to 
Christianity,  and  the  greatest  revilers  of  Christ  himself:  they  are 
the  offspring  of  those  that  crucified  our  Saviour,  and  to  this  day 
labour  under  the  curse  pronounced  against  them  upon  that  account. 
I  know.  Sir,  that,  as  a  Christian,  I  am  obliged  to  love  my 
enemy  ;  but  whilst  he  continues  to  be  so,  no  precept  of  Christi- 
anity enjoins  me  to  take  him  under  my  roof,  much  less  to  put  him 
in  a  way  of  making  himself  master  both  of  me  and  my  roof;  and 
how  the  hon.  gentleman  who  spoke  last,  could  imagine,  that  the 
possession  of  a  land  estate  should  have  an  influence  upon  a  man's 
religious  principles,  I  cannot  comprehend.  If  any  Jew  should  be 
so  loose  as  to  all  principles  of  religion,  as  to  abjure  the  religion  of 
his  ancestors  for  the  sake  of  being  in  the  fashion,  or  for  the  sake  of 
acquiring  any  honour  or  preferment,  surely  his  desire  of  possessing 
a  land  estate  will  be  an  additional  motive  for  his  declaring  himself 
Christian,  when  he  finds  he  cannot  otherwise  acquire  such  a 
possession." 

Campbell's  Liues^  v.  123. — Lord  Hardwicke's  Marriage  Act, 
with  considerable  modifications  and  improvements,  remains  in 
force,  and  regulates  in  England  the  most  important  of  all  con- 
tracts— upon  which  civil  society  itself  depends.  Hitherto  the  old 
canon  law  had  prevailed,  according  to  which  a  valid  marriage  was 
constituted  either  by  the  mere  consent  of  the  parties,  or  by  the 
presence  of  a  priest  in  orders,  at  any  time  or  place,  without  the 
sanction  of  parents  or  guardians,  although  one  or  both  of  the 
parties  might  be  under  age — and  without  any  registration  or  public 
act  affording  the  means  of  knowing  whether  such  a  marriage  had 
been  contracted.  This  does  seem  to  me  a  very  defective  state  of 
the  law,  although  it  exists  in  the  northern  part  of  the  island,  and 
is  there  defended  by  sensible  men.  It  is  of  importance  for  the 
protection  of  minors  that  they  should  not  be  permitted  to  enter 
into   this    contract   by   their  own  mere  fantasy,   when  they    are 


48  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

wholly  incapacitated  to  enter  into  others  of  the  most  trifling 
nature  ;  and  it  is  important  to  society  in  general,  that  a  form — 
simple  and  notorious — should  be  specified,  which  shall  be  essential, 
and  which  shall  be  sufficient,  for  constituting  the  contract,  and 
the  evidence  of  which  shall  be  open  to  all  mankind. 

Various  striking  instances  of  the  inconveniences  and  hard- 
ships resulting  from  the  then  existing  law  had  recently  occurred. 
Young  heirs  and  heiresses,  scarcely  grown  out  of  infancy,  had  been 
inveigled  into  mercenary  and  disgraceful  matches  ;  and  persons 
living  together  as  husband  and  wife  for  many  years,  and  become 
the  parents  of  a  numerous  offspring,  were  pronounced  to  be  in  a 
state  of  concubinage,  their  children  being  bastardized  because  the 
father  had  formerly  entangled  himself  in  some  promise  which 
amounted  to  a  pre-contract,  and  rendered  his  subsequent  marriage 
a  nullity. 

A  multitude  of  clergymen,  usually  prisoners  for  debt,  and  almost 
always  men  of  notoriously  evil  lives,  made  it  their  business  to 
celebrate  clandestine  marriages  in  or  near  the  Fleet.  They  per- 
formed the  ceremony  without  licence  or  question,  sometimes  with- 
out knowing  the  names  of  the  persons  they  united,  in  public-houses, 
hovels,  or  garrets.  They  acknowledged  no  ecclesiastical  superior. 
Almost  every  tavern  or  handy  shop  in  the  neighbourhood  had  a 
Fleet  parson  in  its  pay.  Notices  were  placed  in  the  windows,  and 
agents  went  out  in  every  direction  to  solicit  the  passers-by.  A 
more  pretentious  and  perhaps  more  popular  establishment  was  in 
Curzon  Street,  where  the  Rev.  Alexander  Keith  officiated.  He 
was  said  to  have  made  a  '  very  bishopric  of  revenue  '  by  clandes- 
tine marriages,  and  the  expression  can  hardly  be  exaggerated  if  it 
be  true,  as  was  asserted  in  Parliament,  that  he  had  married  on  an 
average  6000  couples  every  year.  He  himself  stated  that  he  had 
married  many  thousands,  the  great  majority  of  whom  had  not 
known  each  other  more  than  a  week,  and  many  only  a  day  or 
half  a  day.  Young  and  inexperienced  heirs  fresh  from  college, 
and  even  from  school,  were  thus  continually  entrapped.  A  passing 
frolic,  the  excitement  of  drink,  an  almost  momentary  passion,  the 
deception  or  intimidation  of  a  few  unprincipled  confederates,  were 
often  sufficient  to  drive  or  inveigle  them  into  sudden  marriages, 
which  blasted  all  the  prospects  of  their  lives.  In  some  cases,  when 
men  slept  off  a  drunken  fit,  they  heard  to  their  astonishment  that, 
during  its  continuance,  they  had  gone  through  the  ceremony. 
When  the  fleet  came  in  and  the  sailors  flocked  on  shore  to  spend 
their  pay  in  drink  and  among  prostitutes,  they  were  speedily 
beleaguered,  and  200  or  300  marriages  constantly  took  place  within 
a  week.     Among  the  more  noted  instances  of  clandestine   mar- 


MEMOIR   OF  EARL   NUGENT  49 

riages  we  find  that  of  the  Duke  of  Hamilton  with  Miss  Gunning, 
that  of  the  Duke  of  Kingston  with  Miss  Chudleigh,  that  of  Henry 
Fox  with  the  daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Richmond,  that  of  the  Poet 
Churchill,  who  at  the  age  of  seventeen  entered  into  a  marriage 
which  contributed  largely  to  the  unhappinessof  his  life.  The  state 
of  the  law  seemed,  indeed,  ingeniously  calculated  to  promote  both 
the  misery  and  the  immorality  of  the  people,  for  which  there  was 
every  facility  for  contracting  the  most  inconsiderate  marriages : 
divorce,  except  by  a  special  Act  of  Parliament,  was  absolutely 
unattainable.  It  is  not  surprising  that  contracts  so  lightly  entered 
into  should  have  been  as  lightly  violated.  Desertion,  conjugal 
infidelity,  bigamy,  fictitious  marriages  celebrated  by  sham  priests, 
were  the  natural  and  frequent  consequence  of  the  system.  In 
many  cases  in  the  Fleet  registers  names  were  suppressed  or 
falsified,  and  marriages  fraudulently  ante-dated,  and  many  house- 
holds, after  years  of  peace,  were  convulsed  by  some  alleged 
pre-contract  or  clandestine  tie.  It  was  proved  before  Parliament 
that  on  one  occasion  there  had  been  2954  Fleet  marriages  in  four 
months,  and  it  appeared  from  the  memorandum-books  of  Fleet 
parsons  that  one  of  them  made  ^57  in  marriage  fees  in  a 
single  month,  that  another  had  married  173  couples  in  a  single 
day.^  .    .    . 

In  the  public  prisons — particularly  in  the  Fleet — there  were 
degraded  and  profligate  parsons  ready,  for  a  small  fee,  to  marry  all 
persons  at  all  hours  there,  or  to  go  when  sent  for  to  perform  the 
ceremony  in  taverns  or  in  brothels.  The  public  attention  had 
been  particularly  drawn  to  the  subject  by  a  case  of  very  flagrant 
oppression,  which  had  appeared  on  the  hearing  of  an  appeal  before 
the  House  of  Lords,^  and  the  judges  were  ordered  to  prepare  a  Bill 
to  remedy  the  evils  complained  of.  Their  Bill  did  not  please  the 
Chancellor,  who  himself  undertook  the  task  with  great  earnestness. 
His  own  performance  was  not  in  great  taste.  He  declared  null 
all  marriages  which  were  not  celebrated  by  a  priest  in  orders,  either 
under  banns  or  licence,  declaring  in  the  case  of  minors  the  licence 
void  without  the  consent  of  parents  or  guardians — the  banns  to  be 
for     three     successive    Sundays    in    the    parish    church — and    the 

^  Lecky's  History  of  England  in  the  Eighteenth  Century,  i.  490. 

2  According  to  Mr.  Lecky,  in  his  History  of  England  in  the  Eighteenth 
Century,  i.  492,  "  the  first  step  in  this  direction  was  taken  by  Lord 
Bath,  who,  when  attending  a  Scotch  trial,  was  struck  by  the  hardship 
of  a  case,  in  which  a  man,  after  a  marriage  of  thirty  years,  was  claimed  by 
another  woman  on  the  ground  of  a  precontract."  This  very  probably 
has  a  strong  bearing  upon  the  illegality  of  Colonel  Nugent's  marriage 
with  Elizabeth  Vernon. 

E 


50  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

granting  of  ordinary  and  special  licences  to  be  subject  to  certain 
regulations — the  ceremony  to  be  performed  by  a  priest  according 
to  the  liturgy  of  the  Church  of  England.  The  first  great  blot 
upon  the  measure  was,  that  it  required  Roman  Catholics,  Dis- 
senters, and  others  who  might  have  serious  scruples  of  conscience 
against  being  married  according  to  the  prescribed  service  (the  least 
felicitous  in  the  English  Liturgy)  to  submit  to  it, — or  debarred  them 
from  matrimony  altogether.  Another  serious  defect  was,  that  no 
provision  was  made  by  it  respecting  the  marriage  out  of  England 
of  persons  domiciled  in  England,  so  as  to  prevent  the  easy  invasion 
of  it  by  trip  to  Gretna  Green.  The  measure  was  likewise  highly 
objectionable  in  making  no  provision  for  the  marriage  of 
illegitimate  children — who  had  no  parents  recognized  by  law,  and 
could  only  have  guardians  by  an  application  to  the  Court  of 
Chancery, — and  in  declaring  marriages  which  were  irregular  by 
reason  of  unintentional  mistakes  in  banns  or  licences  absolutely 
void,  although  the  parties  might  live  long  together  as  man  and  wife, 
having  a  numerous  issue  considered  legitimate  until  the  discovery 
of  the  irregularity. 

Lord  Hardwicke  laid  the  Bill  on  the  table  and  explained  its  pro- 
visions at  the  commencement  of  the  Session.  On  the  second 
reading,  the  Duke  of  Bedford  made  a  speech  against  it,  but  it 
passed  easily  through  the  Lords.  In  the  Commons,  however,  it 
experienced  the  most  furious  opposition,  particularly  from  Henry 
Fox,  who  was  supposed  to  feel  very  deeply  upon  the  subject, 
because  he  himself  had  run  off  with  Lady  Caroline  Lennox,  eldest 
daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Richmond,  and  married  her  without  the 
consent  of  her  family. 

"  I  cannot  compliment  him  or  the  other  opposers  of  the  Bill," 
continues  Lord  Campbell,  "  on  the  topics  they  employed."  Instead 
of  pointing  out  its  real  defects,  which  in  practice  were  found 
oppressive  and  mischievous,  they  absurdly  denied  the  right  of 
Parliament  to  legislate  upon  the  subject ;  they  dwelt  upon  the 
aristocratic  tendency  of  the  Bill ;  they  denounced  it  as  leading  to 
vice  and  immorality  j  they  prophesied  that  it  would  thin  our 
population,  and  endanger  our  existence  as  a  nation.  Fox,  who 
kept  the  Bill  in  Committee  many  nights,  became  so  heated  by  his 
own  opposition  to  it  against  Murray,  the  Solicitor-General,  and 
other  lawyers  who  defended  it,  that  he  inveighed  bitterly  against 
all  lawyers  and  their  jargon.  He  even  indulged  in  a  personal 
attack  upon  its  author,  whom  he  designated  "  the  Great  Mufti," 
whom  he  accused  of  pride  and  arrogance,  and  whose  motives  in 
bringing  it  forward  he  described  as  selfish  and  sordid.  On  a 
subsequent  evening  he  made  an  apology  for  those  expressions,  and 


MEMOIR   OF    EARL  NUGENT  51 

declared  his  high  respect  for  the  learning  and  integrity  of  the 
noble  lord  he  was  supposed  to  have  alluded  to. 

The  Bill  at  last  passed  the  Commons  by  a  majority  of  125  to 
56,  and  was  sent  back  to  the  Lords. 

Mr.  Lecky,  in  the  History  already  quoted,^  says,  "With  large 
classes  of  the  community  the  easy  process  of  Fleet  marriages  was 
very  popular.  On  the  day  before  the  new  law  came  into  force  no 
less  than  300  were  celebrated,  and  a  bold  attempt  was  made  by  a 
clergyman  named  Wilkinson  to  perpetuate  the  system  at  the 
Savoy.  He  claimed,  by  virtue  of  some  old  privileges  attaching  to 
that  quarter,  to  be  extra-parochial,  and  to  have  the  right  of  issuing 
licences  himself,  and  he  is  said  to  have  actually  celebrated  as  many 
as  1400  clandestine  marriages  after  the  Marriage  Act  had  passed. 
By  the  instrumentality  of  Garrick,  one  of  whose  company  had 
been  married  in  this  manner  in  1756,  a  Savoy  licence  passed  into 
the  hands  of  the  Government,  and  the  trial  and  transportation  of 
Wilkinson  and  his  curate  put  an  end  to  clandestine  marriages  in 
England.  Those  who  desired  them,  however,  found  a  refuge  in 
Scotland,  the  Isle  of  Man,  and  Guernsey,  and  in  1760  there  were 
always  vessels  ready  at  Southampton  to  carry  fugitive  lovers  to  the 
latter  island." 

Nugent's  speech,  May  7,  1753,  was  as  follows — 

"  Sir,  I  know  the  disadvantage  I  labour  under  when  I  stand 
up  to  oppose  the  Bill  now  under  our  consideration.  All  the  most 
tender  passions  that  can  agitate  the  human  breast  militate  in  its 
favour  :  love  for  children,  compassion  for  betrayed  innocence,  the 
honour  of  our  families,  all  plead  strongly  for  our  passing  it  into  a 
law.  Likewise  the  high  character  of  those  who  brought  in  the 
Bill  must  give  every  gentleman  a  bias  in  its  favour ;  more 
especially  the  great  opinion  which  the  world  so  deservedly  have, 
of  the  solid  judgment  of  that  noble  lord  who  was  at  so  much 
pains  in  the  other  House  to  render  it  perfect,  and  who  has  given 
so  many  and  so  great  testimonies  of  his  warm  concern  for  the 
good  of  his  country.  All  these,  I  say.  Sir,  conspire  together  in 
favour  of  this  Bill ;  and  yet  my  way  of  thinking  is  such,  that  for 
the  good  of  the  public,  nay,  for  the  good  of  mankind,  and  for 
the  sake  of  that  reverence  which  I  shall  always  have  for  that 
sacred  engagement  called  marriage,  I  think  myself  bound  in  duty 
to  oppose  the  passing  of  this  Bill  mto  a  law.  I  hope  the  hon.  and 
learned  gentleman  will  excuse  me  when  I  call  the  marriage 
contract  sacred,  after  he  has  been  at  so  much  pains  to  shew  that 
it  is  in  no  way  more  sacred  than  any  other  contract.     But  I  must 

^  Lecky,  Eighteenth  Century,  i.  498. 


52  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

beg  leave  to  say,  that  in  my  opinion,  if  there  can  be  a  religious 
and  sacred  engagement  amongst  mortals,  the  marriage  contract  is 
such  ;  and  it  is  for  the  interest  of  mankind  that  it  should  be 
thought  to  be  so.  I  am  as  much  an  enemy  to  superstition  as  any 
gentleman  in  this  House  ;  but  I  am  afraid,  that  if  we  go  about  to 
abolish  all  manner  of  superstition,  we  shall  abolish  religion  itself: 
like  Jack  in  the  tale,  we  shall  tear  our  coat  to  pieces  by  going 
too  roughly  to  work  in  tearing  off  the  lace  and  embroideries  ;  and 
both  men  and  women  are  so  apt  in  this  age  to  forget  and 
transgress  the  marriage  vow,  that  I  am  far  from  thinking  it  a 
proper  time  for  endeavouring  to  remove,  even  that  superstitious 
character  of  sanctity,  which  our  ancestors  wisely  took  care  to 
stamp  upon  it  in  the  minds  of  the  people.  Whether  the  legislative 
authority  can  declare  void  and  null  a  marriage  vow,  or  indeed  any 
vow  that  has  nothing  irreligious  or  immoral  in  the  performance,  is 
a  question  that  I  must  suppose  the  Reverend  Bench  maturely 
considered,  before  they  consented  to  this  Bill ;  but  I  never  yet 
heard  that  the  legislative  authority  of  this  kingdom  took  upon 
them  to  dispense  with  any  oath  or  vow  that  was  not,  from  its  own 
nature  originally,  or  had  not  from  some  future  accident  become  in 
itself  void  and  null,  if  it  was  made  bv  such  persons  as  could  any 
way  be  supposed  capable  of  knowing  the  nature  of  the  oath  or  vow 
they  had  made. 

"  As  to  the  practice  of  the  primitive  Christians,  or  rather  the 
practice  of  the  first  Christian  emperors,  though  I  am  no  civilian, 
yet  I  have  heard  civilians  talk  upon  the  subject  of  divorces  by 
mutual  consent ;  and  according  to  their  opinion,  it  was  a  practice 
rather  permitted  than  authorized.  Amongst  the  heathen  Romans 
a  most  extensive  liberty  of  divorce  or  repudiation  had  for  a  long 
time  been  allowed,  though  contrary  even  to  their  old  law,  and  to 
the  very  definition  they  gave  of  marriage  \  and  when  Christianity 
was  established  among  them,  their  emperors  were  obliged  to 
indulge  them  with  some  sort  of  liberty  in  this  respect,  not  because 
it  was  agreeable  to  religion,  or  even  to  the  good  of  society,  but  for 
the  same  reason  that  the  great  lawgiver  of  the  Jews  indulged  them 
in  several  things,  because  of  the  hardness  of  their  hearts.  As  if 
we  were  to  introduce  this  custom  again  into  this  country,  I  am 
persuaded  many  a  husband  would  treat  his  wife  with  rigour  and 
severity,  and  even  with  cruelty,  on  purpose  to  force  her  to  consent 
to  a  divorce,  in  order  that  he  miffht  marry  another  woman  who 
was  richer,  or  whom  he  thought  handsomer  ;  and  many  a  wife 
would  treat  her  husband  and  his  affairs  with  contempt  and  neglect, 
on  purpose  to  force  him  to  consent  to  a  divorce,  that  she  might 
marry  another  man  she  liked  better,  or   perhaps   merely  for   the 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  53 

sake  of  novelty.  Therefore  I  have  said,  that  this  liberty  of 
divorce  by  mutual  consent  is  as  little  agreeable  to  the  good  of 
society,  as  it  is  to  the  principles  of  the  purest  Christianity.  But 
by  this  Bill  we  are  to  go  a  great  deal  further  :  we  are  to  introduce 
divorces  without  the  consent  of  either  of  the  married  parties  ;  for 
to  declare  a  marriage  void,  if  not  celebrated  with  all  the  punctilios 
prescribed  by  this  Bill,  is  really  to  divorce  the  husband  and  wife 
from  each  other,  and  to  oblige  them,  if  they  live  together,  not  to 
live  as  husband  and  wife,  but  as  w e  and  rogue;  so  that,  accord- 
ing to  the  late  merry  catch,  '  w e  and  rogue  will  no  more  be 

called  husband  and  wife,'  but  on  the  contrary,  husband  and  wife 

will  be  called  w e  and  rogue,  and  be  actually  treated  as  such 

by  law. 

"But  now.  Sir,  supposing  that  the  legislature  has  power,  or  rather 
a  right,  to  prescribe  what  forms  and  ceremonies  it  pleases  to  the 
marriage  contract,  and  to  declare  every  marriage  void  and  null, 
where  all  the  punctilios  prescribed  are  not  exactly  observed,  which, 
notwithstanding  the  authority  of  the  reverend  bench,  I  am  far 
from  being  satisfied  about,  yet  the  Bill  now  before  us  I  must  be 
against,  because  I  think  it  absolutely  inconsistent  with  the  public 
good  of  this  kingdom.  The  other  House  had  some  reason,  and 
some  sort  of  right,  to  agree  to  it,  because  they  represent  themselves 
and  those  of  their  own  body  only,  and  because,  should  the  Bill  be 
passed  into  a  law,  they  will  thereby  gain  a  very  considerable  and  a 
very  particular  advantage  ;  for  they  will  in  a  great  measure  secure 
all  the  rich  heiresses  in  the  kingdom  to  those  of  their  own  body. 
An  old  miser,  even  of  the  lowest  birth,  is  generally  ambitious  of 
having  his  only  daughter  married  to  a  lord,  and  a  guardian  has 
generally  some  selfish  view,  or  some  interest  to  serve,  by  getting 
his  rich  ward  married  to  the  eldest  son  of  some  duke,  marquiss,  or 
earl :  so  that  when  a  vouno;  commoner  makes  his  addresses  to  a  rich 
heiress,  he  has  no  friend  but  his  superior  merit,  and  that  little  deity 
called  love,  whose  influence  over  a  young  lady  always  decreases  as 
she  increases  in  years;  for  bv  the  time  she  comes  of  age,  pride  and 
ambition  seizes  possession  of  her  breast  likewise,  and  banishes  from 
thence  the  little  deity  called  love,  or  if  he  preserves  a  corner  for  his 
friend,  it  is  only  to  introduce  him  as  a  gallant,  not  a  husband. 
Therefore  I  may  prophesy,  that  if  this  Bill  passes  into  a  law,  no 
commoner  will  ever  marry  a  rich  heiress,  unless  her  father  be  a 
minister  of  state,  nor  will  a  peer's  eldest  son  marry  the  daughter 
of  a  commoner,  unless  she  be  a  rich  heiress. 

"From  hence  will  appear.  Sir,  the  particular  advantage  which  the 
other  House  had  in  passing  the  Bill;  and  they  are  not  chosen  by 
the  people:  we  have  often  found  that  they  shew  no  great  regard  in 


54  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

the  interest  of  the  people,  when  it  happens  to  come  in  competition 
with  the  particular  interest  of  their  own  bodv.  But  we  in  this 
House,  Sir,  represent  the  people,  and  as  the  interest  of  the  people 
and  that  of  the  nation  must  always  be  the  same,  whatever 
advantage  may  accrue  to  our  noble  and  rich  families  from  this 
Bill,  if  it  be  against  the  national  interest  and  that  of  the  people, 
we  ought  not  to  consent  to  its  being  passed  into  a  law.  As  to  the 
national  interest,  I  think  it  is  allowed,  that  to  prevent  the 
accumulation  of  wealth,  and  to  disperse  it  as  much  as  possible 
through  the  whole  body  of  the  people,  is  a  maxim  religiously 
observed  in  every  well-regulated  society.  Riches  is  the  blood  of 
the  body  politic  :  it  must  be  made  to  circulate  :  if  you  allow  it  to 
stagnate,  or  if  too  much  of  it  be  thrown  into  any  one  part,  it  will 
destroy  the  body  politic  as  the  same  cause  often  does  the  body 
natural :  if  this  Bill  passes,  our  quality  and  rich  families  will 
daily  accumulate  riches  by  marrying  only  one  another  ;  and  what 
sort  of  breed  their  offspring  will  be,  we  may  easily  judge  :  if  the 
gout,  the  gravel,  and  madness  are  always  to  wed  together,  what 
a  hopeful  generation  of  quality  and  rich  commoners  shall  we 
have  amongst  us  !  What  a  fine  appearance  they  will  make  at 
the  head  of  our  army,  should  we  ever  happen  to  be  invaded  by  a 
foreign  enemy  ! 

"  Besides  this,  Sir,  the  Bill  plainly  tends  towards  introducing  into 
this  country  a  distinction,  which  is  inconsistent  with  our  constitu- 
tion. In  other  countries  they  have  distinctions  established  and 
still  kept  up,  between  what  they  call  their  noblesse  and  their 
burghers,  boors,  or  roturiers.  In  some  countries  a  nobleman  loses 
his  estate  if  he  marries  belovv  his  rank  ;  and  in  France  one  of 
their  noblesse  must  not  marry  a  roturih'e.  What  is  the  conse- 
quence, especially  in  France  ?  The  marriages  of  their  quality  are 
something  like  the  marriages  of  sovereign  princes  :  the  bride  and 
bridegroom  sometimes  have  never  seen  one  another  till  they  meet 
to  be  married.  Can  any  love  or  affection  be  expected  between 
such  a  married  couple  ?  Accordingly,  it  for  the  most  part 
happens  :  the  bride  goes  to  bed,  perhaps,  the  first  night  with  the 
bridegroom,  but  the  next,  if  not  before,  with  her  gallant  ;  and 
conjugal  love  or  fidelity  is  now  become  so  rare  in  that  country, 
that  it  is  deemed  scandalous  for  a  lady  of  quality  not  to  have  a 
gallant,  or  for  a  man  of  quality  to  be  seen  in  any  public  diversion 
with  his  wife,  unless  his  mistress  be  known  to  be  in  company. 
Can  any  man  be  desirous  of  introducing  such  customs  into  this 
country  ?  Yet  such  customs  will  certainly  be  the  consequence,  as 
our  quality  and  rich  people  will  by  this  Bill  acquire  the  absolute 
disposal  of  their  children  in  marriage^  for  whilst  the  father  is  alive, 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  55 

even  the  Court  of  Chancery  is  to  have  no  power  to  authorize  a 
proper  marriage  without  his  consent,  let  his  refusal  be  never  so 
whimsical  or  selfish. 

"  In  this  country,  Sir,  we  as  yet  know  of  no  distinctions  with 
regard  to  marriage  :  a  gentleman's,  a  farmer's  daughter  is  a  match 
for  the  eldest  son  of  the  best  lord  in  the  land,  and  perhaps  a  better 
match  than  his  father  would  chuse  for  him,  because  she  will 
bring  good  and  wholesome  blood  into  the  family.  It  is  this 
equality  that  gives  such  spirit  to  our  middling  sort  of  gentlemen, 
and  to  our  common  people  in  general :  it  is  this  that  makes  the 
infantry  of  our  army  superior  to  any  in  the  world.  And  I 
believe  it  would  no  way  derogate  from  the  health,  strength  or 
spirit  of  our  nobility,  if,  out  of  pure  love,  they  marry  the  daughters 
of  our  middling  sort  of  gentlemen  oftener  than  they  do ;  for  the 
offspring  of  conjugal  love  have  generally  more  spirit,  and  more 
sense  too,  than  the  offspring  of  conjugal  duty.  But  such  marriages 
will  be  rendered  almost  impossible  by  this  Bill.  At  present, 
indeed,  our  nobility  are  not  quite  so  squeamish  as  those  of  France 
or  Germany  :  they  do  not  shrink,  nor  do  our  laws  render  it 
beneath  them  to  marry  the  daughter  of  a  tradesman  or  merchant, 
if  she  be  one  whose  father  has  heaped  up,  by  whatever  means,  a 
large  sum  of  money,  and  has  no  child  but  her  ;  and  if  the  father 
was  become  rich  before,  or  soon  after  she  was  born,  she  is  generally 
bred  up  to  be  good  for  as  little,  and  to  be  as  proud,  expensive,  and 
whimsical  as  any  lady  of  quality  whatsoever. 

"  But,  Sir,  the  most  pernicious  consequence  of  this  Bill  will  be, 
its  preventing  marriage  among  the  most  useful,  I  will  not  scruple 
to  say,  the  best  sort  of  our  people.  The  healthy,  the  strong,  the 
laborious,  and  the  brave,  I  may  justly  call  so.  It  is  from  their 
labour  our  quality  derive  their  riches  and  their  splendour ;  it  is  to 
their  courage  all  of  us  owe  our  security.  Shall  we,  for  the  sake  of 
preventing  a  few  misfortunes  to  the  rich  and  great  amongst  us, 
make  any  law  which  will  be  a  bar  to  the  lawful  procreation  of 
such  sort  of  men  in  this  country  ?  Gentlemen  may  talk  what 
they  will  about  the  proclamation  of  banns,  and  about  marriage 
being  an  affair  of  such  importance  that  it  ought  to  be  gone  about 
with  caution  and  deliberation;  but  among  the  poor  marriage 
never  was,  nor  ever  can  be,  the  effect  of  wisdom  and  foresight; 
even  among  the  rich  it  seldom  is  so:  and  for  this  reason  the 
ancient  heathens  feigned,  that  Minerva,  who  was  the  goddess  of 
wisdom,  seldom  if  ever  chose  to  be  present  at  any  nuptial  cere- 
mony. Would  a  poor  labouring  man,  who  can  by  hard  labour 
earn  but  a  little  more  than  is  necessary  for  supporting  himself  in 
what  he  may  think  an  elegant  manner :   would  such  a  man,  I  say, 


56  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

encumber  himself  with  a  wife  and  children,  if  he  were  directed  by 
nothing  but  the  dictates  of  wisdom  and  foresight  ?  it  is  certain  he 
would  not.  But  God  Almighty  has  endued  all  animals,  and  man- 
kind among  the  rest,  with  an  ungovernable  and  irresistible  passion, 
which  leads  them  to  the  procreation  of  their  species ;  and  rather 
than  not  satisfy  this  passion,  they  will  submit  to  any  hardships, 
thev  will  expose  themselves  to  any  dangers. 

"  In  this  passion  or  instinct,  Sir,  as  well  as  every  other,  we  may 
see,  and  we  ought  to  admire  the  wisdom  of  the  creation ;  and  as 
God  Almighty  certainly  designed  that  mankind  should  live  in  a 
married  state,  he  has  endued  us  with  another  more  tender  and 
elegant  passion  which  we  call  love,  and  which  often,  if  indulged, 
becomes  as  ungovernable  and  as  irresistible  as  the  other.  It  is  to 
these  two  passions,  and  not  to  the  dictates  of  wisdom,  that  most  of 
the  marriages  among  the  poor  are  owing,  and  it  is  to  these  two 
passions  that  all  the  marriages  both  of  rich  and  poor  ought  to  be 
owing,  though  they  are  sometimes,  especially  among  the  rich, 
directed  by  the  passions  of  avarice  or  ambition ;  but  by  this  Bill, 
I  am  afraid,  you  will  oblige  the  poor  to  take  so  long  time  to  con- 
sider of  what  they  are  about,  that  many  of  them  will  get  the 
better  of  their  passions,  pursue  the  dictates  of  wisdom,  and  prevent 
their  repenting  after,  by  repenting  before  marriage. 

"  Among  the  poor.  Sir,  there  are  many  marriages  made,  and 
even  such  as  prove  very  happy,  that  never  would  have  been  made, 
if  so  much  as  one  proclamation  of  banns  had  been  necessary.  I 
myself  have  made  many  such :  gentlemen  need  not  be  surprised ; 
for  in  the  county  where  I  sometimes  reside,  I  have  the  honour  to 
be  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  for  the  sake  of  my  neighbours  often 
act  as  such.  Of  course  I  have  had  several  country  wenches 
brought  before  me  by  the  parish  officers  for  being  with  child  :  she 
names  the  father,  generally  some  young  country  fellow  in  the 
neighbourhood  :  he  is  immediately  sent  for,  and  confesses  his  being 
the  father :  the  consequence  is,  he  must  either  agree  to  marry  her, 
or  go  to  Bridewell:  if  he  agrees  to  the  first,  I  send  them  directly 
to  church,  and  they  are  presently  married.  But  if  this  could  not 
be  done  in  less  than  a  month,  or  even  a  week,  do  you  think  any 
such  marriage  could  happen  ?  No,  Sir,  the  young  fellow  would 
in  that  time  march  off,  and  leave  both  the  girl  and  the  parish  in 
the  lurch.  Another  case  often  happens :  a  young  man  by  accident 
obtains  a  favour  of  a  girl  of  character ;  a  girl  for  whom  he  has  a 
great  and  real  regard ;  she  proves  with  child ;  to  save  her  char- 
acter, and  to  atone  for  the  injury  he  has  done  her,  he  resolves  to 
marry  her  privately,  so  that  none  of  the  neighbours  shall  know  but 
that  they  were  married  before  the  child  was  begot.     But  if  this 


MEMOIR   OF  EARL   NUGENT  57 

Bill  passes  he  cannot  do  so,  because  he  does  not  know  how  to  get 
a  special  licence  from  the  archbishop,  or  cannot  well  spare  to  pay 
for  it:  they  must  then  be  married  at  the  parish  church  where  one 
of  them  resides :  the  time  of  the  marriao-e  could  not  then  be  con- 
cealed ;  and  if  she  should  be  brought  to  bed  in  four  or  five 
months,  it  would  very  much  derogate  from  her  character,  and  not 
a  little  hurt  his  own ;  the  thoughts  of  which  might  make  him 
resolve  not  to  marry  her  at  all,  and  we  have  no  law  for  compelling 
him. 

"  A  multitude  of  cases  might  be  put,  Sir,  for  shewing  the  incon- 
venience of  absolutely  prohibiting,  or  annulling  all  private  or 
sudden  marriages.  In  short,  it  seems  to  be  flying  in  the  face  of 
Providence,  by  enacting,  that  this  passion  which  God  Almighty 
has  made  the  cause,  and  which  ought  to  be  the  cause  of  every 
marriage,  shall  not  be  the  cause  of  any  marriage  in  this  country. 
And  it  is  certain,  that  proclamation  of  banns  and  a  public  marriage 
is  against  the  genius  and  nature  of  our  people :  it  shocks  the 
modesty  of  a  young  girl  to  have  it  proclaimed  through  the  parish, 
that  she  is  going  to  be  married ;  and  a  young  fellow  does  not  like 
to  be  exposed  so  long  beforehand  to  the  jeers  of  all  his  com- 
panions ;  and  to  be  married  by  licence  costs  more  money  than 
poor  people  can  well  spare.  How  fond  our  people  are  of  private 
marriages,  and  of  saving  a  little  money,  we  may  be  convinced  of 
by  the  multitude  of  marriages  at  Keith's  chapel,  compared  with 
the  number  at  any  parish  church.  I  have  made  an  enquiry,  and  I 
have  been  told,  that  at  Keith's  chapel  there  have  been  six  thousand 
married  in  a  year,  whereas  at  St.  Anne's  church,  which  is  a  very 
populous  parish,  and  a  very  convenient  church  for  private  marriages 
by  licence,  there  are  seldom  above  fifty  marriages  in  a  year;  yet 
the  difference  in  the  expense  is  not  above  eight  or  ten  shillings, 
but  this  is  sometimes  near  equal  to  the  whole  stock  of  the  married 
couple,  and  consequently  no  wonder  they  should  be  for  saving  it. 

"It  is  therefore  evident.  Sir,  that  this  Bill,  if  passed  into  a  law, 
will  in  a  great  measure  prevent  marriage  among  our  laborious  and 
industrious  sort  of  people  ;  and  as  to  all  our  itinerant  sort  of  men, 
it  will  render  marriage  almost  impossible  ;  for  by  this  Bill  a  man 
must  reside  at  least  a  month  in  one  parish  before  he  can  possibly 
be  married  without  a  licence,  which  he  is  not,  perhaps,  able  to  pay 
for.  How,  then,  can  our  seamen,  our  soldiers,  our  bargemen  who 
live  in  their  barges,  as  many  of  them  do,  and  our  waggoners,  who 
live  at  the  inns  where  their  waggons  put  up — I  say,  how  can  any 
of  these  men  marry  without  a  licence  ?  Nay,  even  with  a 
common  licence  they  cannot  marry,  unless  they  are  to  be  married 
to  a  woman  who  has  resided  a  month  in  the  parish  where  she  then 


58  MEMOIR  OF   EARL   NUGENT 

is.  Must  not  every  gentleman  thus  see  what  difficulties  and 
discouragements  this  Bill  will  throw  in  the  way  of  marriage  among 
the  poor  ;  and  indeed,  I  must  observe,  that  the  humour  of  prevent- 
ing the  poor  from  marrying  prevails  too  much  of  late  in  all  parts 
of  this  country  ;  our  numerous  Bills  for  inclosing  commons  have 
a  great  tendency  this  way ;  and  those  wise  politicians,  called 
parish-officers,  are  everywhere  destroying  cottages,  because  they 
encourage  the  poor  to  marry  and  beget  children  which  may 
become  burthensome  to  the  parish.  Do  these  wiseheads  think 
that  labourers,  servants,  common  seamen  and  soldiers  are  not 
necessary  for  the  support  and  security  of  this  kingdom  ?  Or  do 
they  think,  that  the  passion  I  have  mentioned,  which  has  been 
implanted  by  the  Author  of  nature  in  all  creatures  for  the  procrea- 
tion of  each  respective  species,  is  not  as  strong  and  as  violent 
among  the  poor  as  the  rich  ?  Sir,  I  will  be  bold  to  say,  it  is 
equally  strong,  and  perhaps  more  effectual  for  the  end  intended  ; 
and  if  you  render  marriage  among  that  sort  of  people  so  difficult 
and  expensive,  you  must  by  public  authority  set  up  a  common  stew 
in  every  parish  ;  if  you  do  not,  you  will  be  the  cause  of  the 
murder  of  many  infants,  either  after  they  are  born,  or  by  abortion, 
before  they  come  to  the  time  of  their  birth  ;  nay,  I  tremble  to 
think  of,  I  disdain  to  name  the  nasty,  the  abominable  crime  which 
this  Bill  may  be  the  cause  of  rendering  as  frequent  in  this  country 
as  it  is  in  too  many  others. 

And  for  what.  Sir,  are  we  to  bring  all  these  mischiefs  upon  our 
native  country  }  That  my  young  lord,  or  the  young  rich  squire, 
forsooth,  may  not  be  induced  to  marry  his  mother's  maid,  or  a 
neighbouring  farmer's  daughter,  who  may  probably  make  him  a 
better  wife  and  render  him  more  happy,  than  if  he  had  married 
the  richest  heiress  in  the  kingdom  ;  or  that  young  miss  may  not 
run  away  with  her  father's  footman,  who  may  make  her  a  better 
husband  than  any  lord  or  rich  squire  she,  or  ever  her  father,  could 
have  chosen.  Such  marriages,  I  shall  grant.  Sir,  are  a  great 
disappointment  to  the  avarice  or  ambition  of  the  parents  j  but 
they  are  rather  of  advantage  than  of  prejudice  to  the  community  ; 
and  if  the  married  couple  are  unhappy,  it  generally  proceeds  from 
the  cruel,  unnatural,  unforgiving  temper  of  the  parents,  which  our 
laws  should  rather  endeavour  to  rectify  than  encourage.  But  if 
this  Bill  be  passed  into  a  law,  the  parents  may  relent,  the  parents 
may  forgive ;  but  '  lex  est  res  surdae  et  inexorabilis,'  the  law 
will  neither  relent  nor  forgive  ;  the  married  couple  must  be  looked 

upon  as  w e  and  rogue,  and  their  children  born  before  they  are 

again  married  must  all  be  bastards  ;   for,  contrary  to  the  custom  of 
all  other  countries,  a  future  marriage  does  not  by  our  law  legiti- 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  59 

mate  the  children  born  before  it ;  therefore  if  this  Bill  passes  I 
hope  our  law  will  in  this  respect  be  altered,  and  made  more 
agreeable  to  common  sense. 

"  But  supposing,  Sir,  that  a  young  gentleman  or  lady's  marry- 
ing below  their  rank  were  as  great  a  misfortune  to  their  families 
as  it  is  generally  deemed  to  be,  it  may  in  a  great  measure  be 
prevented  by  a  proper  education.  If  due  care  be  taken  to 
implant  right  notions  in  their  early  youth,  and  to  learn  them 
betimes  to  curb  their  passions,  they  will  not  consort  with  people 
below  their  rank  so  familiarly  as  to  fall  in  love  with  any  of  them, 
or  they  will  stifle  the  passion  in  its  birth  ;  and  unless  that  passion, 
by  indulgence,  becomes  violent,  no  such  marriage  can  ever 
happen.  And  supposing  that  even  by  this  means  the  misfortune 
could  not  be  prevented,  yet  it  does  not  follow  that  we  must 
prevent  it  by  a  public  law.  How  many  great  and  ancient  families 
are  daily  ruined,  and  the  family  estate  squandered,  by  the  extrava- 
gance of  one  man  who  happens  to  be  last  in  the  entail  !  Should 
we  for  this  reason  pass  a  Bill  for  rendering  entails  perpetual }  Our 
lawyers  would  all  cry  out,  the  law  cannot  endure  perpetuities.  I 
could  mention  many  other  misfortunes  that  cannot  be  prevented 
bv  public  laws,  but  must  be  left  to  education,  the  morals,  and  the 
customs  of  the  people  ;  and  this  of  clandestine  marriages  I  take  to 
be  a  misfortune  of  this  kind.  They  are  sometimes  pernicious, 
but  this  law  would  be  more  pernicious  than  they  can  ever  be,  and 
it  is  most  flagrantly  unjust. 

"  The  hon.  and  learned  gentleman  talked.  Sir,  of  one  of  our 
old  laws  having  laid  the  penalty  upon  the  most  innocent  :  I  am 
sure,  you  do  so  by  this  Bill  in  the  most  glaring  manner  ;  for  you 
lay  it  upon  the  children  before  they  are  born  ;  you  declare  them 
bastards,  and  for  ever  incapable  of  succeeding  to  the  estate  either 
of  their  father  or  mother.  And  as  to  the  fair  sex,  instead  of  being 
favourable  for  them,  I  am  certain  it  would  prove  a  snare  for 
entrapping  many  of  them  to  their  ruin.  Such  a  law  as  this  has 
proved  so  in  Ireland  :  it  has  already  produced  some  of  the  most 
shocking  barbarities.  A  young  woman  is  but  too  apt  by  nature 
to  trust  to  the  honour  of  the  man  she  loves,  and  to  admit  him  to 
her  bed  upon  a  solemn  promise  to  marry  her.  Surely  the  moral 
obligation  is  as  binding  as  if  they  had  been  actually  married  :  but 
you  are  by  this  Bill  to  declare  it  null  and  void,  even  though  in 
writing.  Nay,  if  he  has  actually  married  her,  but  not  in  the  form 
by  you  prescribed,  you  are  to  declare  both  the  obligation  and  the 
marriage  null  and  void.  Is  not  this  taking  upon  you  to  annul 
the  laws  of  God  ?  There  is  a  great  difference.  Sir,  between  declar- 
ing that  no  action  shall  lie  upon  an  obligation  not  duly  attested, 


6o  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

and  declaring  that  obligation  null  and  void.  The  former  a  legis- 
lature may  do,  for  preventing  vexatious  law-suits  ;  but  the  latter 
no  human  legislature  can,  or  ought  to  pretend  to  do. 

"  We  were  asked,  Sir,  by  the  hon.  and  learned  gentleman, 
why  a  man,  when  he  comes  of  age,  may  not  be  entitled  to  avoid  a 
marriage  contract,  as  well  as  every  other  contract  he  made  while 
he  was  under  age,  without  the  consent  of  his  parents  or  guardians? 
The  reason  is  very  plain.  When  a  man  avoids  a  contract  so  made 
whilst  under  age,  he  is  obliged  to  restore  what  he  got  by  virtue  of 
that  contract ;  but  if  a  young  fellow  of  nineteen  or  twenty  marries 
a  woman  and  consummates  that  marriage,  he  cannot  restore,  and 
therefore  the  law  of  God,  and  hitherto  the  law  of  man,  obliges 
him  to  abide  by  that  contract.  And  the  reason  why  the  canons 
allow  a  boy  of  fourteen  to  avoid  a  marriage  made  by  him  before 
that  age,  is,  because  till  then  he  is  supposed  not  capable  to  con- 
summate the  marriage.  But  I  will  ask  the  learned  gentleman,  in 
my  turn,  whether  a  young  fellow  of  eighteen  or  nineteen  may  not 
be  guilty  of,  and  punished  for  a  rape  ?  And  I  will  say,  that  there 
is  the  same  difference  between  a  man  who  deflowers  a  girl  under 
the  pretence  of  marriage,  which  he  knows  to  be  void  in  law,  and  a 
man  who  ravishes  a  girl,  that  there  is  between  a  man  who  cheats 
me  out  of  my  purse  bv  false  dice,  and  a  man  who  robs  me  of  it 
upon  the  highway.  The  former  in  both  cases  is  the  greatest 
criminal  of  the  two,  though  not  so  severely  punished  by  law ;  but 
surely  the  least  punishment  that  ought  to  be  inflicted  by  law 
upon  the  first  sort  of  ravisher,  is  to  oblige  him  to  abide  by  the 
marriage  he  has  entered  into.  And  whilst  I  am  upon  this  subject, 
I  must  observe,  that  you  are  to  do  by  this  Bill  what  never  yet  was 
done  by  the  laws  of  God,  the  laws  of  nature,  or  the  laws  of  man : 
you  are  with  respect  to  marriage  to  make  the  age  of  consent  the 
same  in  women  as  it  is  in  men;  therefore  I  must  say,  that  there 
never  was,  I  believe,  a  Bill  brought  into  parliament,  that  made  so 
free  with  the  laws  of  nature  and  of  God,  as  the  Bill  does  which  is 
now,  I  hope  for  the  last  time,  under  our  consideration. 

"  Now,  Sir,  with  regard  to  the  preventing  of  the  law-suits  about 
the  validity  of  a  marriage,  or  the  legitimacy  of  children,  is  there 
anything  more  plain  than  that  they  will  be  multiplied  exceedingly, 
and  the  proof  rendered  much  more  difficult  by  this  Bill,  should  it 
be  passed  into  law.  At  present  the  marriage  is  easily  proved 
whilst  either  of  the  parties  is  alive,  and  after  the  parents  are  both 
dead,  I  am  told  that  the  children  are  not  obliged  to  prove  the 
marriage,  if  their  father  and  mother  lived  together  as  man  and 
wife,  and  were  commonly  reputed  to  be  so.  But  if  this  Bill 
passes,  not  only  the  marriage  must  be   proved,   but  it  must    be 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  6i 

proved  to  be  such  a  marriage  as  was  not  void  by  this  law:  that  is 
to  say,  that  all  the  punctilios  prescribed  by  this  Bill  were  duly 
observ^ed.  Thus  a  man  may  get  rid  of  his  wife,  or  a  wife  of  her 
husband,  because  after  a  few  years  it  cannot  be  proved,  that  they 
have  resided  a  month  in  the  parish  before  the  banns  were  pro- 
claimed or  the  licence  granted.  Thus  a  lady  mav  be  disappointed 
of  her  dower,  because  her  husband  neglected,  at  the  time  of  their 
marriage,  some  of  the  requisite  punctilios.  And  in  the  next  age, 
several  gentlemen  may  perhaps  be  ousted  of  their  estates,  because 
their  grandfather  and  grandmother  were  not  married  according  to 
all  the  forms  prescribed.  For  there  is  no  time  limited  for  com- 
mencing such  suits;  so  that  one  would  think  the  Bill  was 
designed  for  multiplying  law-suits;  and  for  this  reason,  I  make 
no  doubt  but  that  it  will  be  a  favourite  Bill  among  all  the  lawyers 
without  doors,  though  as  to  those  within,  I  am  sure,  that  this  will 
be  no  argument  in  its  favour. 

"  Lastly,  Sir,  as  to  polygamy,  it  is  equally  clear,  that  this  Bill  will 
render  that  crime  much  more  frequent;  for  cunning  fellows  will 
always  omit  some  one  of  the  forms  prescribed,  on  purpose,  that  if 
they  are  prosecuted,  they  mav  shew  that  one  of  the  marriages  was 
void  in  law :  and  you  cannot  convict  a  man  of  having  two  wives, 
when  the  law  expressly  savs  that  one  of  them  is  not  his  wife. 
Then  as  to  our  rakish  young  lords  and  squires,  I  am  persuaded, 
that  many  of  them  will  marry  a  dozen  or  a  score  oft-times  before 
they  come  of  age ;  and  they  will  meet  with  girls  even  of  character, 
that  will  agree  to  such  a  marriage,  because  the  marriage,  and  their 
real  or  pretended  ignorance  of  the  law,  will  be  an  excuse  for  their 
breach  of  chastity,  and  every  one  will  hope,  by  her  conduct  and 
the  charms  of  her  person,  to  secure  him  as  her  husband  for  ever. 
That  this  will  be  the  use  made  of  the  Bill  by  many,  I  am  fully 
convinced;  and  therefore,  as  a  facetious  gentleman  said  of  a  Bill  to 
the  same  purpose,  and  with  the  same  title,  which  was  brought 
into  this  House  a  good  many  years  ago,  I  think  if  you  do  pass  this 
Bill,  you  should  alter  the  title  of  it,  and  instead  of  a  Bill  to 
prevent,  you  should  call  it  a  Bill  to  encourage  clandestine 
marriages. 

"  In  short,  Sir,  not  only  the  general  scope  of  the  Bill,  but 
almost  every  clause  in  it,  is  in  my  opinion  big  with  mischievous 
consequences;  therefore,  I  hope,  it  will  be  dropt  in  the  most 
respectful  manner,  by  committing  it  for  this  day  two  months;  for 
if  this  is  not  previously  agreed  to,  I  must  give  my  negative  to  the 
motion,  which  I  should  be  sorry  to  do;  and  if  I  am  obliged  to  do 
so,  I  hope  it  will  not  be  looked  on  as  any  want  of  respect  to  the 
judges  who  brought  it  in,  or  to  any  lord  who  promoted  its  being 


62  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

passed  by  the  other  House,  for  all  of  whom  I  have  the  greatest 
regard;  but  whilst  I  have  the  honour  to  sit  here,  I  will  never 
allow  my  regard  for  any  one  to  bias  me  in  giving  my  vote  upon 
any  question  that  comes  before  us." 

It  was  not  very  long  after  this — November  27  in  the  same  year 
— that  the  Jews'  Naturalization  Bill  came  up  for  repeal.  Nugent 
then  spoke,  saying — "  I  am  not  at  all  ashamed  to  own  that  I  was 
last  Session  for  the  Act  which  is  now  proposed  to  be  repealed,  and 
gave  my  vote  for  the  Bill  in  every  step  it  made  through  this 
House.  I  could  not  then  think  it  a  bad  Bill,  though  I  thought  it 
of  no  great  importance ;  and  as  I  have  still  the  same  opinion  of  it, 
I  shall  with  the  same  indifference  agree  to  its  being  repealed ;  for  to 
both  I  think  we  may  very  justly  apply  what  Montaigne  says  of  the 
New  Stile  when  it  was  first  introduced,  '  Pope  Gregory,'  says  he, 
'  has  found  out  an  evil  which  hurt  nobody,  and  he  has  applied  a 
remedy  which  does  nobody  any  good.'  "  The  repealing  Bill  was 
duly  passed,  and  received  the  Royal  Assent  on  the  following  20th 
December.  Nugent  appears  to  have  spoken  once  before  the 
death  of  Pelham,  in  a  debate  on  the  Inquiry  into  the  Manage- 
ment of  the  Lottery  for  purchasing  Sir  Hans  Sloane's  curiosities. 
He  opposed  the  inquiry,  partly  on  the  ground  that  the  subject  was 
too  low  to  be  undertaken  by  the  House  without  loss  of  dignity, 
but  the  resolution  was  agreed  to. 

Henry  Pelham  died  on  March  6,  1754.  The  Duke  of 
Newcastle  succeeded  his  brother  as  First  Lord  of  the  Treasury. 
Parliament  was  dissolved  on  April  8  ;  Nugent  was  created  a 
Lord  of  the  Treasury  on  the  6th.  A  General  Election  took 
place,  and  Nugent  was  returned  for  Bristol  on  May  i,  having 
for  his  colleague  Mr.  Richard  Beckford.  Nugent,  it  may  be 
mentioned,  was  also  elected  for  St.  Mawe's,  on  April  19,  but 
elected  to  sit  for  Bristol,  being  succeeded  in  the  Cornish  borough 
in  the  following  December  by  James  Newsham.  At  the  same 
election,  Edmund  Nugent  was  elected  for  Liskard,  also  called 
"  Leskard  "  or  "  Liskerrett."  He  resigned,  however,  in  1759,  on 
being  made  a  Captain  in  Colonel  John  Crawford's  Regiment  of 
Foot;  but  he  sat  for  St.  Mawe's  in  the  first  Parliament  of  George 
III.  in  1 761,  and  again  in  1768,  his  father  sitting  in  1774. 

For  particulars  of  the  Election  of  1754  I  quote  The  Annals  of 
Bristol — 

"  A  General  Election  took  place  in  April.  The  Bristol  Whigs, 
who  had  been  unrepresented  for  twelve  years,  brought  forward  Mr. 
Robert  Nugent,  one  of  the  Lords  of  the  Treasury,  and  a  prominent 
member  of  the  dissolved  House  of  Commons.  Mr.  Southwell  and 
Mr.  Hoblyn  having  both  retired,  their  friends  introduced  Sir  John 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  63 

Philipps,  a  Welsh  baronet  with  Jacobite  sympathies,  and  Richard 
Beckford,  an  alderman  of  London,  largely  interested  in  the  sugar 
plantations.  Beckford  being  then  at  Jamaica,  his  interests  were 
championed  by  his  more  celebrated  brother,  William,  and  it  is 
recorded  that  in  the  heat  of  the  contest  the  peppery  slave-owner, 
irritated  by  the  jeers  of  a  Whig  mob,  compared  Bristolians  in 
unequivocal  language  to  'a  parcel  of  hogs.'  No  fewer  than  986 
persons  were  admitted  to  their  freedom  during  the  month  of  April, 
the  fees  being  paid  by  one  or  other  of  the  candidates.  The  con- 
test was  prolriic  in  squibs,  in  one  of  which  Mr.  Nugent,  who  was  a 
convert  from  Romanism,  was  styled  '  a  whitewashed  Protestant,' 
while  Mr.  Beckford  was  stio-matized  in  others  as  a  'West  India 
hog,'  and  '  negro  tyrant.'  Nugent's  friends  recommended  him 
to  the  electors  for  having  prevented  the  introduction  of  French 
bottles,  and  by  that  means  saved  hundreds  of  families  in  the  city 
from  starving ;  while  they  jeeringly  commended  the  candidature 
of  Sir  J.  Philipps,  who  had  paraded  the  streets  of  Bristol  soon  after 
the  Jacobite  rebellion  in  a  plaid  waistcoat,  as  'acceptable  to  our 
friends  in  the  Highlands  by  wearing  their  livery.'  The  polling, 
which  continued  for  a  fortnight,  closed  on  the  First  of  May  with 
the  following  result — Nugent  2590,  Beckford  2248,  Sir  J.  Philipps 
2163.  There  was  a  display  of  fireworks  in  the  evening  in  honour 
of  Nugent's  return.  The  Election  is  said  to  have  cost  the  Whigs 
^20,000." 

The  election  was  by  no  means  devoid  of  humorous  incident. 
All  I  am  able  to  reproduce  here  at  present  are  the  two  following 
manifestoes — 

"Bristol,  March  23,  1754. 

"  Whereas  an  Advertisement  was  given  about  on  Thursday  the 
2 1  St  inst.,  desiring  the  Good  Citizens  of  Bristol  not  to  engage 
their  votes  till  further  notice,  the  author  of  the  said  advertisement 
explains  himself  as  follows  : 

"  Reasons  against  chusing  Mr.  Nugent : — 

"  I.  Mr.  Nugent  is  a  sincere  Convert  from  Popery  to  the 
Church  of  England,  is  bitterly  reviled  by  the  Popish  Priests,  and 
hated  by  all  bigoted  Papists  : — Therefore  every  true  Party-man 
ought  to  revile  him  likewise,  in  order  to  deter  others  from  being 
converted. 

"  2.  Mr.  Nugent  was  a  great  favourite  of  his  late  Royal  High- 
ness the  Prince  of  Wales  : — Therefore  all  those  who  acknowledge 
in  their  hearts  a  Prince  of  Wales  of  another  Name  and  Family, 
ought  to  express  their  dislike  to  him. 

"  3.    Mr.   Nugent   proposed  a  Bill  for  wealthy  Foreign   Pro- 


64  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

testants  to  enrich  this  Kingdom  by  buying  lands  and  merchandiz- 
ing:— Therefore  our  Party,  who  make  no  Objections  against 
receiving  Foreign  Singers  and  Fidlers,  and  now  admit  the  Poor 
and  Idle  of  all  Nations,  but  object  to  the  coming  in  of  the 
Religious,  the  Rich  and  the  Industrious  ought  to  cry  out  con- 
tinually, No  General  Naturalization. 

"4.  Mr.  Nugent  joined  in  a  Bill  to  prevent  the  Jews  from 
profaning  the  Christian  Sacraments,  and  buying  Church  Livings  : 
— Therefore  we  who  have  no  concern  about  Religion,  and  regard 
only  the  cry  of  the  Church  to  serve  our  cause  ought  to  blacken 
him  as  an  Enemy  to  Christianity. 

"  5.  Mr.  Nugent  resented  the  introduction  of  French  Bottles, 
and  by  that  means  saved  Hundreds  of  Families  in  this  City  from 
Starving : — Therefore  the  proper  way  for  the  Glassmen,  Colliers, 
Coal-drivers,  &c.,  &c.  to  repay  his  kindness,  is  to  refuse  him  their 
votes,  and  to  give  them  to  another,  who  never  did,  and  never  can 
serve  them. 

"  6.  Mr.  Nugent  was  the  Chief  Actor  in  Opening  the  Trade 
to  Turkey;  He  strongly  opposes  the  East  India  Company;  and 
intends,  at  a  proper  Time,  for  opening  a  Trade  to  Hudson's  Bay : 
— Therefore,  We  of  this  City,  who  suffer  most  by  these  Monopo- 
lies, ought  not  to  have  such  a  Member  to  represent  us. 

"  7.  Mr.  Nugent  warmly  opposed  the  Marriage- Act,  and  is 
determined  next  Sessions  to  do  the  same: — Therefore  all  who 
would  have  Partners  for  Life  of  their  own  ckusing^  ought  to  reject 
him  with  disdain.  (Added  by  another  hand  after  the  first 
publication.) 

"  8.  Mr.  Nugent  can  serve  this  City  by  his  Weight  and  Influ- 
ence, both  in  Parliament  and  out  of  it.  He  can  obtain  a  Lottery 
for  Building  Bridges,  and  making  the  streets  more  commodious 
for  passing  : — Therefore  he  is  an  improper  man  to  be  a  Candidate 
for  Bristol. 

"  9.  Mr.  Nugent  has  defended  the  Honour  of  this  City  in  Par- 
liament already,  when  our  Members  were  mute.  He  is  able  and 
willing  to  defend  it  again. — Therefore  we  ought  not  to  elect  such 
a  gentleman  who  has  or  can  defend  us. 

"  P.S. — As  soon  as  Sir  J — n  P — s  is  declared  you  shall  hear  the 
reasons  for  giving  him  the  Preference." 

The  second  runs — 

"Bristol,  March  29,  1754. 

"The  Advertiser  of  the  2ist  Instant,  who  desired  the  Citizens 
not  to  engage  their  Votes  for  Mr.  Nugent,  proceeds  to  give  his 
reasons  for  preferring  Sir 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  65 

"  I.  Sir is  the  chief  of  the  Sea-Serjeant  Society,  the  mean- 
ing of  whose  Meeting  is  no  secret.  He  also  appeared  in  a  Plaid 
Waistcoat  in  this  City  soon  after  the  Rebellion  : — Therefore  he 
ought  to  chuse  for  his  distinguished  Loyalty  to  His  Majesty  King 
George  ;  and  we  cannot  do  a  more  acceptable  thing  to  our  Friends 
in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  than  to  shew  our  regard  for  the 
Man  who  wears  their  Livery. 

"  2.  Sir endeavoured  to  prosecute  all  Persons  who  entered 

into  Associations  in  defence  of  the  Present  Constitution,  both  in 
Church  and  State,  during  the  last  Rebellion  : — Therefore  he  is 
entitled  to  the  votes  and  Interest  of  all  those,  who  wished  well  to 
the  Rebellion,  and  would  have  been  glad  that  the  Constitution 
both  in  Church  and  State  had  been  then  overturned. 

"  3.  Sir appeared  at  the  Bar  in  defence  of  Mr.  M — y,  a 

notorious  stickler  for  a  Popish  Pretender,  being  then  under  the 
displeasure  of  the  British  House  of  Commons  for  attempting  to 

destroy  the  Freedom  of  Elections ;  and  Sir undertook  this 

cause  when  every  other  Lawyer  in  the  Kingdom  was  ashamed  to 
appear  in  it : — Therefore,  to  be  sure,  we  cannot  manifest  our 
Attachment  to  the  King  and  Parliament,  our  Zeal  for  the  Pro- 
testant Religion,  and  our  Regard  to  the  Freedom  of  Elections 
unless  we  chuse  him. 

"  4.  Sir cannot  serve  us  any  case,  but  may  greatly  hurt 

us,  both  in  P — t  and  out  of  it : — Therefore  by  chusing  him,  we 
shall  shew,  that  we  have  no  motive  of  self-interest,  and  that  we 
purely  act  from  a  spirit  of  Party. 

"  5.  Sir Regard  for  Trade  has  not  yet  appeared  :  and  he 

never  gave  any  Proofs  that  he  understands  the  Nature  of  it :  He 
always  opposed  the  Court  Right  or  Wiong,  but  was  never  known 

to    oppose   the    Encroachments  of  the    City  of  L n,  or   to 

appear  in  defence  of  the  Oatports  : — Therefore  by  preferring  him 
to  Mr.  Nugent  we  shall  shew  our  own  judgment,  our  good  sense, 
and  Gratitude. 

"  6.  Sir our  own  Country  Men  who  have  tried  him,  and 

know  him  best,  will  not  chuse  him  for  any  Place  : — Therefore,  if 
we  chuse  him,  we  shall  have  the  Pleasure  to  say.  That  we  took 
the  man  who  everybody  else  refuses. 

"  Highland  Livery  for  ever  !  True  Blue  for  Ever  !  Huzza, 
Boys  !     Huzza  !  " 

As  to  Nugent's  connection  with  Bristol  during  the  twenty 
years  from  1754  to  1774,  I  cannot  do  better  than  quote  from 
Dean  Tucker's  Review  of  Lord  Clare's  Conduct.  True,  it  is 
the  work  of  a  partisan  who  owed  much  in  the  way  of  preferment 


66  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

to  his  patron,  and  to  that  extent  must  be  received  with  reserve,  at 
least,  as  to  the  panegyrics  with  which  he  adorns  and  emphasizes 
his  discourse.  There  is  no  reason,  at  all  events,  to  throw  discredit 
upon  his  statements  of  fact,  and  although  I  have  omitted  much 
matter  relating  to  the  prosperity  of  Bristol,  that  port  appears  to 
have  derived  substantial  benefit  from  Nugent's  representation  of  it. 
Dean  Tucker's  address  runs — 

"Before  Mr.  Nugent,  now  Lord  Viscount  Clare,  was 
chosen  to  represent  the  City  of  Bristol^  it  was  a  general  Complaint 
among  the  Citizens,  that  they  had  not  a  Friend  to  whom  they 
could  apply  for  obtaining  any  Favour  from  the  great  Officers  of 
State  : — That  a  Commercial  City,  such  as  theirs,  stood  in  continual 
Need  of  the  Interposition  and  Assistance  sometimes  of  the 
Treasury,  sometimes  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  and  sometimes  of  the 
Commissioners  of  the  Customs,  and  the  Excise,  etc.,  etc.,  to 
moderate  and  mitigate  the  Letter  of  the  Law  in  contingent 
Cases  : — That,  more  especially  during  the  Time  of  War,  they 
were  subject  to  great  Distress  for  Want  of  regular  Convoys,  and 
of  other  beneficial  Protections  : — And  lastly,  that  in  the  Disposal 
of  Government-Places  belonging  to  their  Port  and  City,  it  was 
hard  and  grating  to  them  to  see  such  Numbers  of  Strangers 
preferred,  whilst  several  of  their  own  Tradesmen,  reduced  by 
Misfortunes,  wanted  Bread.  Add  to  all  this,  that  the  City  of 
Bristol  was  at  that  juncture,  and  had  been  for  some  time  Past, 
miserably  distracted  by  the  opposite  Factions  of  Whig  and  Tory. 

"  After  the  Whigs  had  long  deliberated  what  Course  to  take 
for  extricating  the  City  from  such  numerous  Difficulties,  and  for 
setting  themselves  free  from  such  a  mortifying  Subjection  to  their 
fellow  Citizens,  they  at  last  resolved  to  apply  to  a  Gentleman, 
whom  they  all  knew  by  Character  to  be  the  very  Person  they 
wanted  ;  tho'  few,  very  few,  had  personal  Acquaintance  with  him. 
He  had  distinguished  himself,  among  many  other  Instances,  by 
moving  for,  and  supporting  a  Bill  for  naturalizing  foreign  Pro- 
testants, and  by  opposing  a  famous  Act,^  which  he  judged  to  be 
unfavourable  to  Population.  In  the  Course  of  the  first  he  had 
been  applied  to  by  the  Whigs  of  Bristol  to  present  their  Petition 
in  its  Favour.  He  had  been  equally  forward  and  distinguished  in 
the  Bills  for  opening  the  Levant,  and  African  Trade,  and  in  his 
attempts  to  free  Hudson^s  Bay  from  a  pitiful  monopolizing 
Company.  In  all  these  Measures  he  had  been  also  applied  to  from 
Bristol^  with  Directions  to  their  Agents  in  London  to  be  guided 
and  governed  by  his  Advice.     He   had,  singly  and  unapplied   to, 

1  The  Marriage  Act. 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  67 

opposed  a  Bill  for  importing  French  Wines  in  foreign  Bottles, 
moved  for  by  the  Earl  of  Hilsborough,  seconded  by  Mr.  Fox, 
countenanced  by  the  Ministers,  and  vehemently  pressed  by  all  the 
Jine  Gentlemen  of  the  House  of  Commons  ^  v^^hich  upon  his 
single  Speech  was  refused  the  usual  Indulgence  of  being  brought 
in  and  read  a  first  Time.  In  short,  his  established  Character  was, 
'  That  he  was  a  Man  of  Knowledge,  and  great  oratorical  Powers, 
which  he  chose  chiefly  to  exert  in  Behalf  of  those  great  national 
Points,  Population,  Freedom  of  Trade,  and  Extension  of  Com- 
merce ;  that  he  was  a  continual  and  a  successful  Advocate  for  the 
Out-Ports,  when  their  own  Members  remained  silent,  never  failing 
to  oppose  the  monopolizing  Schemes  of  the  City  of  London ; 
and  that  he  was  heard  with  peculiar  Pleasure  and  Attention,  when 
speaking  on  his  favourite  Topics  of  Trade  and  Navigation.  It 
was  also  further  observed  concerning  him,  that  he  was  fixt  and 
steady  in  his  Principles,  intrepid  in  his  Undertakings,  sincere  in 
his  Attachments,  and  most  indefatigable  to  serve  his  Friends  ;  and, 
to  crown  all,  that  he  was  a  Favourite  both  with  the  King  and 
with  his  Ministers,  by  whom  he  was  appointed  a  Lord  of  the 
Treasurv.' 

"  This  Gentleman  was  therefore  invited  by  a  numerous  Party 
of  the  Citizens  to  come  to  Bristol^  to  stand  a  Candidate  at  the 
approaching  Election,  as  he  was  before  the  Town  of  Liverpool, 
But  tho'  they  (the  Bristolians)  wanted  his  Support  and  Assistance 
so  very  much,  though  they  also  knew  that  he  stood  in  no  Need 
of  theirs,  having  a  Borough  of  his  own,  and  a  most  ample 
Fortune ;  yet  when  they  came  to  Explanations  and  to  settle 
Preliminaries,  they  proposed  to  stipulate  with  him  for  a  very  large 
Sum  of  Money  towards  defraying  the  Expenses  of  a  Contest. 
This  Treatment,  by  degrading  him  into  the  Rank  of  a  common 
Adventurer,  or  mere  Borough  Hunter,  was  not  likely  to  inspire 
him  with  any  favourable  Ideas  of  the  Proposers.  And  it  is  easy 
to  conceive,  that  a  Man  of  his  Spirit,  Fortune  and  Independence 
did  not  hesitate  to  reject  the  Proposition  with  some  Degree  of 
Indignation.  The  Whigs  had  then  no  other  Alternative,  but 
either  to  submit  to  his  own  Terms,  or  to  seek  for  another  Candi- 
date and  Protector,  or  to  continue  in  Subjection  to  the  same 
Party,  who  had  so  long  oppressed  them.  Another  Candidate 
equal  to  him  in  Abilities,  Influence,  and  Power  was  not  easily  to 
be  found.  In  consequence  of  which  a  Deputation  of  some  of  their 
principal  Merchants  was  sent  to  him  in  London^  to  apologize 
for  what  was  past,  and  to  offer  him  a  Carte  blanche  for  the 
future. 

"  Among  other  Arguments  then  successfully  urged  both  by  him- 


68  MEMOIR   OF    EARL  NUGENT 

self,  and  by  his  Friends,  one,  which  had  the  greatest  Effect,  was 
this,  that  the  Whig-Party  did  not  seek  for  Victory,  but  Independ- 
ence ;  therefore  would  be  content  with  one  Member  only  ;  Con- 
sequently that  all  the  Disturbances  given  to  the  Peace  of  this 
City,  and  all  the  Animosities,  Rancour,  and  Distractions  occasioned 
thereby,  were  entirely  to  be  laid  to  the  opposite  Party,  for  not 
consenting  to  so  reasonable  a  Proposal.  We  have  since  seen, 
how  well  some  Whigs  remembered  this  Doctrine,  when  it  came 
to  their  own  Turn  to  practise  it. 

"  But  whatever  others  might  do,  Mr.  Nugent  always  chose  to 
act  an  uniform,  consistent  Part.  Immediately  on  his  Election, 
he  declared  that  from  hence-forward  he  would  consider  himself  to 
be,  as  in  Duty  bound,  the  common  Representative  of  all,  tho'  he 
was  elected  by  one  Party  only.  And  when  the  Whigs,  on  the 
Death  of  Mr.  Richard  Beckford,  set  up  another  Candidate, 
viz  :  Mr.,  now  Earl  Spencer,  contrary  to  the  Declaration  they 
had  so  lately  made  ;  it  is  well  known  that  Mr.  Nugent  dis- 
approved and  discountenanced  that  Measure.  Nor  could  it 
surprise  those  who  knew,  as  many  did,  that  at  his  own  Election, 
he  had  refused  the  Solicitations  of  his  then  over-jealous  Friends 
to  admit  his  Son,  the  late  Colonel  Nugent,  to  be  his  Colleague. 
He  stood  single,  and  was  then  Nugent  only.  He  went  further, 
and  expressed  his  Wishes,  towards  the  Close  of  that  Election, 
when  the  Balance  could  be  cast  by  his  Party  in  Favour  of  either 
of  the  two  opposing  Candidates,  that  it  should  be  made  favourable 
to  him  who  was  most  agreeable  to  the  adverse  Side. 

"  The  second  Contest  ending,  as  it  ought,  in  the  Defeat  of 
the  Whigs,  they,  taught  and  humbled  by  the  Event,  and  the 
Tories  observing  numberless  Instances  of  Mr.  Nugent's  Fairness, 
Integrity,  and  Impartiality,  Animosities  on  both  sides  subsided, 
and  a  Reconciliation  ensued  amongst  the  Citizens,  which  led  to  a 
solemn  Agreement  between  the  Agents  of  both  Parties,  that  the 
Candidate  to  be  named  by  one,  should  be  supported  by  the  other, 
during  three  successive  Parliaments  ;  which  Compact  was  univers- 
ally acquiesced  in,  and  acknowledged  by  five  unanimous  Elections 
and  Re-elections  of  Mr.  Nugent,  named  by  the  Whigs,  and  by 
two  Elections,  one  of  Sir  Jarrett  Smith,  the  other  of  Mr. 
Brickdale,  named  by  the  Tories.  One  Parliament  still  remained 
to  compleat  the  Term  of  that  Agreement,  when  a  great  Majority 
of  the  Whigs  departed  from  their  Engagement,  and,  naming  at 
first  two  Candidates,  named  a  Third  upon  Lord  Clare's  with- 
drawing from  a  Contest  in  which  he  was  sure  of  success.  What 
his  Motives  were  require  no  Explanation. 

"  I  shall   now  return  to  our  late  noble   Representative,  in   that 


MEMOIR    OF   EARL   NUGENT  69 

Character  which  he  invariably  maintained  from  the  Day  of  his 
first  Election,  'The  unwearied  Advocate  for  the  Freedom  of 
Trade,  the  faithful  Representative  and  Protector  of  the  City  of 
Bristol^  the  zealous  Promoter  of  its  internal  Prosperity,  and  a 
generous  and  impartial  Benefactor  to  its  distressed  and  decayed 
Citizens.' 

"  During  a  Twenty  Years  Representation,  he  had  many 
Opportunities  of  displaying  himself  under  each  of  these  Descrip- 
tions. Let  us  therefore  see  what  he  did,  and  how  he  acted,  on 
such  a  Variety  of  Occasions. 

"  It  would  be  endless  to  recount  all  the  Laws  in  which  he  bore 
a  principal  Part  during  this  long  Period  :  But  some  there  are, 
which  so  strongly  bear  his  Mark  and  Signature,  that  it  would 
be  flagrant  Injustice  not  to  mention  them  at  the  present  Juncture. 
His  grand  System  ever  was,  to  provide  Plenty  of  Food  for  the 
Poor,  and  Plenty  of  Work  for  the  Industrious.  With  this  View 
he  was  ever  watchful  over  the  price  of  Corn,  that  Staff  of  Life. 
Therefore  whenever  the  rate  began  to  rise  above  a  moderate 
Pitch,  he  used  to  propose  first  to  stop  the  Stills  at  Home,  and 
then  the  Exportation  Abroad,  and  last  of  all  to  admit  of  an 
Importation  Duty  Free.  The  like  difficulties  he  had  frequently 
to  struggle  with,  and  at  last  overcame  in  respect  to  the  Admission 
of  live  Stock  from  Ireland^  also  of  Salt  Provisions,  Butter,  Lard, 
and  Tallow  from  the  same  Country,  Rice  and  other  Eatables 
from  America^  and  at  last  Corn  and  Flour  from  every  Country 
with  which  we  had  any  Intercourse. 

"  Next  to  a  Plenty  of  Food,  his  constant  Aim  was  to  provide 
Plenty  of  Materials  for  Labour  and  Industry,  wherever  it  was  in 
his  Power  so  to  do.  Here  therefore  the  famous  Bill  for  importing 
Bar-Iron  from  North  America  must  occur  to  the  Mind  of  every 
Person  intelligent  in  these  Matters.  However,  through  the 
indefatigable  zeal  of  Mr.  Nugent,  the  Bill  succeeded  in  Spite  of 
all  Opposition  both  of  the  City  of  Londoji^  of  the  Iron  Masters, 
and  of  the  Proprietors  of  Wood  Lands. 

"  Another  Instance  of  Mr.  Nugent's  Care  both  to  provide  raw 
Materials,  and  also  of  his  Vigilance  in  preventing  the  Monopolizing 
of  them  by  the  City  of  London^  was  visible  in  the  Case  of  the 
Bounty  upon  Indigo.  He  strongly  concurred  in  granting  a  large 
Bounty  on  the  Importation  of  this  useful  Ingredient  for  Dying, 
m  order  to  encourage  its  Growth  and  Cultivation  in  the  Colonies. 
The  London  Merchants,  Members  of  the  House  of  Commons,  did 

1  Before  the  passing  of  this  Law,  the  Importation  of  Bar-Iron  from 
America  was  confined  to  London  only. 


70  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

the  like  :  But  mark  the  difference  of  their  Views  !  The  Londoners 
did  it  with  a  view  of  confining  the  Bounty  to  such  Indigo,  as 
should  be  imported  only  into  the  Port  of  London  :  By  which 
Measure  they  would  inevitably  have  monopolized  the  whole 
Commodity  to  themselves,  together  with  every  Article  dependent 
on  it :  And  the  growth  and  Cultivation  of  it  must  necessarily 
have  been  crampt  in  the  Colonies.  But  altho'  their  Plot  was  so 
artfully  disguised  under  the  plausible  Pretence  of  Zeal  to  prevent 
Frauds  and  Impositions,  that  their  Scheme  was  on  the  Point  of 
succeeding,  Mr.  Nugent  detected  their  Artifices,  exposed  their 
real  Views  to  the  House,  and  set  forth  the  Injury  which  would 
be  done  thereby,  not  only  to  Bristol  and  the  other  Out-Ports, 
but  also  to  the  Nation  in  General,  and  to  the  Colonies  in 
particular. 

"Something  similar  to  this  Affair  happened  more  than  once  in 
the  Case  of  Trading  to  the  Coast  of  Africa  :  Several  attempts 
were  made  by  the  late  Mr.  (William)  Beckford  and  others  to 
confine  this  Trade  to  a  joint-stock  Company  :  And  as  often 
as  they  were  made,  so  often  were  these  Attempts  defeated 
thro'  the  Vigilance  of  Mr.  Nugent.  In  short,  it  would  be 
tedious  to  recount  every  Instance  of  this  Kind.  Suffice  it  to  say, 
once  for  all.  That  whenever  any  Schemes  were  carrying  on  to 
engross  Sugars,  or  Tobacco,  or  any  other  Commodity  under  Colour 
of  Law ;  or  whenever  any  undue  Preference  was  attempted  to 
be  given  to  the  Port  of  London ;  Mr.  Nugent  was  ever  on  the 
Watch,  acting  the  Part  of  a  faithful  Sentinel  to  the  Out-Ports  in 
general,  and  to  the  City  of  Bristol  in  particular,  by  giving  the 
Alarm,  and  putting  them  on  their  Guard.  Mr.  Nugent  (who  soon 
afterwards  was,  I  think,  created  Lord  Clare)  was  one  of  the 
Original  Planners  and  Conductors  of  the  Bill  for  establishing  the 
Ports  in  the  IVest  Indian  Islands. 

"  The  iniquitous  and  destructive  contraband  Trade  carried  on  in 
the  Isle  of  A/o/?,  particularly  prejudicial  to  the  African  Trade  of 
Bristol  J  from  the  exclusive  Advantages  which  it  gave  to  Liverpool^ 
had  long  been  the  Object  of  Mr.  Nugent's  Attention  and  En- 
quiries. With  a  View  to  remedy  the  various  Mischiefs  produced 
by  a  Nest  of  Outlaws  and  Smugglers,  who  from  the  Center  of 
the  Channel  infested  Great-Britain  and  Ireland^  he  employed 
Captain  Luke  Mercer,  of  the  City  of  Dut'liuj  who  was  perfectly 
Master  of  the  Subject,  to  prepare  Materials  for  this  Purpose,  which 
he  communicated  to  the  late  Mr.  Grenville,  then  first  Lord  of 
the  Treasury,  who  at  his  Desire  sent  for  that  Gentleman,  and 
consulted  with  him  upon  forming  the  Plan  soon  after  carried  into 
Execution  by  that  able  and  honest  Minister. 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL    NUGENT  71 

"One  instance  more,  and  then  I  shall  have  finished.  He,  I 
may  safely  venture  to  appeal  to  all  the  Bankers  of  Bristol^  v^as 
the  sole  Instrument  of  rejecting  in  the  last  Session  a  Bill  framed 
by  the  Bankers  of  London^  and  supported  by  all  their  Interest, 
for  the  laudable  Purpose  of  bringing  to  their  Shops  all  the  deposited 
Money  of  Great-Britain^  to  the  total  Destruction  of  the  Banking 
Business  in  Bristol^  and  all  other  Towns  except  the  Metropolis, 
and  the  Stagnation  of  Manufacture  and  Commerce  unenlivened 
and  unfed  by  Money  or  Credit,  all  to  be  sv^allowed  up  in  that 
devouring  Vortex. 

"  During  the  War  he  more  eminently  distinguished  himself  as  our 
Guardian  and  Protector.  Not  one  Port  in  the  three  Kingdoms 
was  so  well,  or  so  constantly  provided  with  Convoys  and  Protec- 
tions, as  the  Port  of  Bristol.  Indeed  this  Predilection  became  a 
Proverb  among  seafaring  and  merchantile  People  ;  and  almost  all 
other  Ports  and  Places  beheld  it  with  Envy  and  Repining.  Some 
there  are  who  remember  these  Favours  with  Gratitude.  One 
Gentleman  in  particular  lately  assured  me,  that  during  the  War, 
he  had  saved  above  ^1000  a  year  by  Convoys  only. 

"  In  respect  to  the  Poor  in  general ;  at  one  Time  he  gave  a  large 
Sum  for  the  Importation  of  a  Cargo  of  Wheat,  to  be  distributed 
among  them.  The  Ship  indeed  was  taken  by  the  Enemy,  but 
his  intended  Charity  was  not  the  less.  At  another  Time  he  pro- 
posed a  Bounty  on  the  Importation  of  Grain  into  the  Port  of 
Bristol :  The  Magistrates  approved  of  and  joined  cordially  in  the 
Measure  :  So  that  the  City  of  Bristol  (instead  of  being  itself 
supplied  from  the  inland  Counties)  became  the  Granary  for  supply- 
ing both  the  Western  Parts  of  England  and  also  the  Southern 
Parts  of  PValeSj  which  otherwise  might  have  felt  a  severe  Famine. 
He  had  likewise  planned  a  similar  Scheme  for  the  Importation  of 
Salt  Provisions,  and  for  making  the  City  of  Bristol  a  Kind  of 
Magazine  for  the  adjacent  Counties. 

"And  now,  if  I  might  presume  to  suggest  any  Thing  farther,  to 
render  this  affecting  Transaction  still  more  memorable, — It  would 
be  this, — Humbly  to  request  his  Lordship  to  make  his  own  private 
Conduct  in  this  Affair,  the  Model  of  a  Bill  for  a  public  Law, 
mutatis  mutandis,  to  prevent  the  horrid,  and  worse  than  piratical 
Practice  of  plundering  Ships,  when  wrecked  on  the  English  Coast ; 
a  Practice,  to  our  Shame  and  Confusion  be  it  spoken,  more 
prevalent  and  bare-faced  in  this  Country,  than  in  any  other  Part 
of  Europe.^' 

Lord  Nugent's  address  to  his  Constituents  on  his  rejection  ran 
as  follows — 


72  MEMOIR   OF  EARL  NUGENT 

^^  To  the  Gentlemen,  Clergy^  Freeholders,  and  Freemen 

of  the  City  of  Bristol. 

"  Altho'  the  supine  Inactivity  of  some,  and  the  infatuated 
Conduct  of  others,  left  me  unassisted  and  deserted  by  many  who 
called  themselves  my  Friends,  I  owe  to  Justice,  Honour,  and 
Gratitude  this  public  Declaration,  that  many  respectable  Bodies 
of  Men,  and  very  many  Individuals  remained  faithful  to  their  Pro- 
fessions, constant  in  their  Friendships,  and  grateful  for  the 
Endeavours  of  an  old  Servant,  who,  tho'  no  longer  the  chosen 
Representative,  shall  ever  remain  the  warm  and  zealous  Friend  of 
Bristol. 

"  Craggs  Clare. 
^^Bathy  Oct.  lo,  1774." 

ADDRESS  I. 

"  At  a  numerous  meeting  of  the  Society  of  Merchants  of  this  City, 
at  their  Common  Hall,  on  Thursday,  the  loth  of  November. 

"  It  was  unanimously  voted  and  ordered,  '  That  the  Thanks  of 
this  Society  should,  in  the  most  respectful  Manner,  be  returned  to 
the  Right  Hon.  Lord  Viscount  Clare,  for  the  many  important 
Benefits  that  the  Commercial  Interests  of  this  City  had,  for  a 
Series  of  Twenty  Years,  received  by  means  of  his  Lordship's 
constant  Attention,  and  that  the  Society  hope  it  shall  hereafter  be 
favoured  with  his  Lordship's  friendly  Aid  and  Assistance.'" 

Here  commences  Nugent's  long  official  career.  He  was  again 
appointed  a  Commissioner  of  the  Treasury  under  the  Duke  of 
Newcastle,  November  22,  1755,  as  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer, 
and  again  under  the  same  leadership,  December  20  the  same  year  ; 
again  under  William  Pitt,  the  Duke  of  Devonshire  being  Chancellor 
of  the  Exchequer,  November  16,  1756;  again  in  July  1757 
under  Pitt,  and  yet  again  in  June  1759.  His  appointment  to  the 
Vice-Treasurership  in  Ireland  took  place  in  the  latter  end  of  the 
same  year,  as  we  find  him  re-elected  at  Bristol  on  his  appointment 
on  December  26.^  His  continuance  under  Pitt  was  due  to  the 
influence  of  Grenville,  who  was  closely  connected  with  Pitt  by 
marriage,  as  he  was  afterwards  to  be  with  Nugent.  This  brings 
us  practically  to  the  end  of  the  reign  of  George  II.,  and  to  the 

^  The  post,  which  had  been  held  by  the  elder  Pitt,  and  was  subse- 
quently otfered  to  the  younger,  was  "  an  office  of  light  work  and  high 
pay,  the  latter  being  computed  at  no  less  than  ^^jooo  a  year." 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  73 

beginning  of  the  troubles  which  led  to  the  American  War  and  the 
Declaration  of  Independence. 

As  to  his  inclusion  in  the  Ministry  of  1757,  I  cannot  do  better 
than  again  quote  Dr.  Smollett. 

"  It  would  not,  perhaps,  be  possible  to  exclude  from  a  share  in 
the  administration,  all  who  were  not  perfectly  agreeable  to  the 
people  :  however  unpopular  the  late  ministry  might  appear,  still 
they  possessed  sufficient  influence  in  the  privy-council,  and  credit 
in  the  house  of  commons,  to  thwart  every  measure  in  which  they 
did  not  themselves  partake.  This  consideration,  and  very  recent 
experience,  probably  dictated  the  necessity  of  a  coalition,  salutory 
in  itself,  and  prudent,  because  it  was  the  only  means  of  assuaging 
the  rage  of  faction,  and  healing  those  divisions,  more  pernicious 
to  the  public  than  the  most  mistaken  and  blundering  annals.  Sir 
Robert  Henley  was  made  Lord-Keeper  of  the  Great  Seal,  and 
sworn  of  his  majesty's  privy-council,  on  the  thirteenth  day  of  June 
— the  custody  of  the  privy-seal  was  committed  to  earl  Temple  ; 
his  grace  the  duke  of  Newcastle,  Mr.  Legge,  Mr.  Nugent,  Lord 
viscount  Duncannon,  and  Mr.  Grenville,  were  appointed  com- 
missioners for  executing  the  office  of  treasurer  of  his  majesty's 
exchequer ;  Lord  Anson,  Admirals  Boscawen  and  Forbes,  Dr. 
Hay,  Mr.  West,  Mr.  Hunter  and  Mr.  Elliott,  to  preside  at  the 
board  of  Admiralty  ;  Mr.  Fox  was  gratified  with  the  office  of 
receiver  and  paymaster-general  of  all  his  majesty's  Guards,  garrisons, 
and  land  forces,  and  the  earl  of  Thomond  was  made  treasurer  of 
the  King's  household,  and  sworn  of  his  majesty's  privy  council." 

During  this  period,  which  comprises  the  most  glorious  epoch  in 
the  life  of  the  elder  Pitt,  Nugent  appears  to  have  spoken  but  little. 
The  House  was  filled  with  great  orators  and  statesmen.  In 
addition  to  Pitt,  Pulteney,  with  his  irresistible  passion,  Henry  Fox, 
Grenville,  Murray,  Philip  and  Charles  Yorke,  the  Townshends, 
and  a  host  of  others  were  there,  and  Nugent,  moreover,  probably 
found  his  official  duties  as  much  as  he  could  comfortably  attend  to. 
On  the  other  hand.  Parliamentary  reporting  was  then  in  a  very 
backward  state,  and  though  we  find  against  Nugent's  name  only 
three  speeches  from  the  time  of  his  appointment  to  the  Treasury 
in  1754  to  the  end  of  1765,  we  also  find  none  at  all  to  the  credit 
of  such  men  as  Henley,  Pratt,  and  others  who  we  may  be  quite 
certain  were  not  silent  in  the  House  over  any  considerable  period. 
The  three  speeches  were,  first,  on  the  debate  relating  to  the 
Oxfordshire  Election  in  which  he  pooh-poohed  the  idea  that  the 
double  return  of  members  for  that  county  constituted  a  danger  to 
popular  liberty  ;  second,  a  debate  on  the  Bristol  Nightly  Watch 
Bill,  of  purely  local  interest  ^  and  the   third  on  the  Bill  for  the 


74  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Encouragement  of  Seamen  and  speedily  Manning  the  Navy.  The 
last-mentioned  is  the  only  one  calling  for  notice.  Lord  Pulteney 
had  moved  for  leave  to  introduce  a  Bill,  one  of  the  enactments  of 
which  proposed  to  give  to  the  captors  vessels  taken  from  the  French, 
who  had  then  attacked  us  in  America,  prior  to  declaration  of  war. 
Nugent,  with  great  spirit  and  ability,  opposed  the  Bill  on  the  ground 
that  such  a  measure  would  provoke  other  powers  with  treaty 
obligations  to  France  to  join  her  in  hostilities  against  this  country. 
Pitt,  who,  with  Legge,  had  a  few  weeks  before  been  dismissed 
from  office  for  his  speech  against  the  Hessian  subsidies,  supported 
the  Bill  as  an  inducement  to  men  to  join  the  navy.  The  motion 
was  then  rejected  by  a  very  large  majority,  but  on  May  i8 
following  (this  was  in  December  1755),  the  day  after  war  had  been 
declared,  the  same  motion  was  renewed  and  carried  without  dissent. 
The  Bill  was  immediately  presented  to  the  House,  read  a  first  time 
then  and  there,  read  a  second  time  the  next  morning,  and  passed 
without  opposition. 

In  1765^  came  the  Ministry  of  Lord  Rockingham.  On 
December  4,  1766,  Nugent  was  appointed  a  First  Commissioner  for 
Trade  and  Plantations,  a  position  of  peculiar  importance  in  interest 
at  that  time  having  regard  to  our  relations  with  the  American 
colonies,  and  on  the  20th  created  Viscount  Clare  and  Baron  Nugent 
in  the  Peerage  of  Ireland.  His  return  on  re-election  for  Bristol,  in 
which  he  is  described  as  "  now  Robert,  Lord  Viscount  Clare  of  the 
Kingdom  of  Ireland,"  is  dated  December  16,  1766.  Prior  to  this 
he  had  come  in  contact  with  Burke  in  the  House  of  Commons. 
Burke,  who  had  been  appointed  Rockingham's  private  secretary, 
had  been  returned  for  Wendover,  and  took  his  seat  in  January  1766. 
A  petition  was  presented  on  January  27,  by  Mr.  Cooke,  member 
for  Middlesex,  from  some  of  the  American  provinces  assembled  in 
Congress,  against  the  Stamp  Act.  The  'Parliamentary  History' 
makes  no  mention  of  the  proceedings  of  this  evening,  yet,  according 
to  Rockingham,  the  debate  was  lively  and  the  war  of  words  fierce. 
It  was  moreover  on  this  evening  that  Edmund  Burke  made  his 
first  speech  in  Parliament.  Messrs.  Jenkinson  and  Dyson,  both 
holding  offices  under  Lord  Rockingham,  as  did  Nugent  and 
Ellis,  belonged  to  the  Court  party,  who  called  the  Congress  a 

^  In  May  1765  Pitt  was  dissuaded  from  forming  an  Administration 
by  Temple^  who  was  on  the  point  of  becoming  reconciled  with  his 
brother  George,  and  had  conceived  the  idea  of  forming  a  Ministry,  the 
principal  members  of  which  were  to  be  of  his  own  family. — Diet.  Nat. 
Biog. :  '  Grenville,  Richard  Temple.'  This  would  have  included  Pitt 
and  probably  Nugent,  though  his  daughter  did  not  marry  into  the 
family  till  ten  years  later. 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL  NUGENT  75 

"dangerous    feudal    union."     Burke    and    Nugent,    as    we    shall 
presently  see,  were  to  be  more  intimately  associated. 

His  office  of  Commissioner  of  Trade,  Nugent  held  till  1768, 
and  during  the  period  of  his  office  no  speeches  of  his  are  reported 
in  the  House.  He  was  in  the  very  thick  of  the  controversies  with 
America,  and  in  the  course  of  them  met  Benjamin  Franklin,  with 
whom  he  had  negotiations  of  the  most  important  character  on  the 
relation  between  Great  Britain  and  the  revoltino-  Colonies. 

In  a  letter  to  William  Franklin,  Benjamin  writes  from  London 
under  date  of  August  28,  1767 — 

"  Last  week  I  dined  at  Lord  Shelburne's  and  had  a  long  con- 
versation with  him  and  Mr.  Conway  (there  being  no  other 
company)  on  the  subject  of  reducing  American  expense.  .  .  . 
The  Secretaries  appeared  finally  to  be  fully  convinced,  and  there 
remained  no  obstacle  but  the  Board  of  Trade,  which  was  to  be 
brought  over  privately,  before  the  matter  should  be  referred  to 
him  officially.  In  case  of  laying  aside  the  Superintendent,  a 
provision  was  thought  of  for  Sir  William  Johnson.^ 

"  We  had  a  good  deal  of  further  discourse  on  American  affairs, 
particularly  on  paper  money.  Lord  Shelburne  declared  himself 
fully  convinced  of  the  utility  of  taking  off  the  restraint  by  my 
answer  to  the  Report  of  the  Board  of  Trade.  General  Conway 
had  not  seen  it,  and  desired  me  to  send  it  to  him,  which  I  did  next 
morning.  They  gave  me  expectation  of  a  Report  next  session, 
Lord  Clare  having  come  over  ;  but  they  saw  there  was  some 
difficulty  with  others  at  the  Board,  who  had  signed  that  Report ; 
for  there  was  a  good  deal  in  what  Soames  Jenyns  had  laughingly 
said,  when  asked  to  concur  in  some  measure,  '  I  have  no  kind  of 
objection  to  it,  provided  we  have  heretofore  signed  nothing  to  the 
contrary.' "  2 

In  November  1767  Franklin's  negotiations  are  still  in  pro- 
gress. In  a  letter  to  Mr.  Franklin  on  the  25th  he  says — "  As  soon 
as  I  received  Mr.  Galloway's,  Mr.  Samuel  Wharton's,  and  Mr. 
Croghan's  letters,  on  the  subject  of  the  boundary,  I  communicated 
them  to  Lord  Shelburne.  He  invited  me  the  next  day  to  dine 
with    him.     Lord    Clare  was    to   have    been   there,  but  did  not 

1  The  subject  here  introduced,  which  is  frequently  mentioned  by 
Franklin  in  letters  to  his  son,  relates  to  an  application  by  a  Company 
to  the  Crown  for  the  grant  of  a  tract  of  land  west  of  the  Alleghanies, 
with  the  design  of  establishing  a  colony  there.  It  was  called 
"Walpole's  Grant,"  from  the  circumstance  of  Mr.  Thomas  Walpole 
having  been  the  principal  person  concerned  in  procuring  it. 

2  Bigelow's  Life  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  i.  537-38. 


76  MEMOIR   OF   EARL    NUGENT 

come.  .  .  .  He  finally  desired  me  to  go  to  Lord  Clare,  as  from 
him,  and  urge  the  business  there,  which  I  undertook  to 
do.  ... 

"  I  waited  next  morning  upon  Lord  Clare,  opened  the  matter 
of  the  boundary  closely  upon  him.  He  said  they  could  not  find 
they  had  ever  received  any  letters  from  Sir  William  concerning 
this  boundary,  but  were  searching  further  ;  agreed  to  the  necessity 
of  settling  it;  but  thought  there  would  be  some  difficulty  about 
who  should  pay  the  purchase  money  ;  for  if  this  country  was 
already  so  loaded,  it  could  bear  no  more.  We  then  talked  of  the 
new  colonies.  I  found  he  was  inclined  to  think  one  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Ohio  might  be  of  use  in  securing  the  use  of  the 
country,  but  did  not  much  approve  that  at  Detroit.  And  as  to 
trade,  he  imagined  it  would  be  of  little  consequence  if  we  had  all 
the  peltry  to  be  purchased  there,  but  supposed  our  traders  would  sell 
it  chiefly  to  the  French  and  Spaniards  at  New  Orleans,  as  he 
heard  they  had  hitherto  done."  i 

On  July  2,  1768,  Benjamin  Franklin  writes  again  to  William — 

"We  have  lost  Lord  Clare  from  the  Board  of  Trade.  He 
took  me  home  from  Court  the  Sunday  before  his  removal, 
that  I  might  dine  with  him,  as  he  said,  alone,  and  talk  over 
American  affairs.  He  seemed  as  attentive  to  them  as  if  he  was 
to  continue  for  ever  so  long.  He  gave  me  a  great  deal  of 
flummery, — saying  that  though  at  my  examination  I  had  answered 
some  of  his  questions  a  little  pertly,  yet  he  liked  me  from  that 
day,  for  the  spirit  I  shewed  in  defence  of  my  country  ;  and  at 
parting,  after  we  had  drunk  a  bottle  and  a  half  of  claret  each,  he 
hugged  and  kissed  me,  vowing  he  had  never  in  his  life  met  with 
a  man  he  was  so  much  in  love  with.  This  I  write  for  your 
amusement.  You  see  by  the  nature  of  this  letter,  that  it  is  for 
yourself  only.  It  may  serve  to  prepare  your  mind  for  any  event 
which  may  happen. 

"  If  Mr.  Grenville  comes  into  power  again,  in  any  department 
respecting  America,  I  must  refuse  to  accept  of  anything  that  may 
seem  to  put  me  in  his  power,  because  I  apprehend  a  breach 
between  the  two  countries ;  and  that  refusal  might  give  offence. 
So  that  you  see  a  turn  of  a  die  may  make  a  great  difference  in 
our  affairs.  We  may  be  either  promoted  or  discarded  -,  one  or 
the  other  seems  likely  soon  to  be  the  case,  but  it  is  hard  to  divine 
which.  I  am  myself  grown  so  old  as  to  feel  much  less  than 
formerly  the  spur  of  ambition  ;  and,  if  it  were  not  for  the  flattering 
expectation  that    by  being  fixed    here  I  might  more  effectually 

^   Bigelow's  Life  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  i.  549. 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  77 

sen'e  my  country,  I  should  certainly  determine  for  retirement, 
without  a  moment's  hesitation." 

As  a  fact,  Nugent  had  taken  an  active  and  none  too  friendly 
part  in  Franklin's  examination,  and  had  received  some  answers 
which  betrayed  pretty  clearly  the  annoyance  they  had  caused  the 
illustrious  American. 

No  more  speeches  of  Nugent's  are  reported  until  1770,  and 
then  they  were  not  of  a  very  remarkable  character.  The  first  of 
them  was  the  Debate  on  the  Address.  Bitter  complaints  had 
been  made  as  to  the  prevalence  of  distress  in  the  country,  but  Lord 
Clare,  as  he  then  was,  had  seen  none  of  it,  and  he  proceeded  to 
show  how  the  petitions  had  been  got  up — 

"  Among  other  places,  Sir,"  he  said,  "  I  was  at  a  Inn  in  E , 

where  a  meeting  had  been  advertised,  and  upon  inquiry  of  the 
landlord,  he  told  me  that  some  country-looking  men  came  first  -, 
that  they  were  soon  after  joined  by  some  strangers  who  told  them 
that  this  country  was  at  the  mercy  of  a  set  of  tyrannical,  treacher- 
ous and  bloodthirsty  men  who  had  abused  the  King's  confidence, 
robbed  freeholders  of  their  right  of  election,  from  which  well- 
known  advantages  were  derived,  ordered  Scots  soldiers  to  massacre 
poor  innocent  people  who  were  selling  oranges  and  gingerbread 
in  St.  George's  Fields,  and  confined  a  man  in  prison  for  attempting 
to  reduce  the  price  of  porter  to  three-pence  a  quarter  ;  that  not  one 
of  the  neighbouring  gentlemen  were  present;  that  the  countrymen, 
thinking  there  could  be  no  harm  in  taking  a  chance  at  least  for 
putting  an  end  to  these  practises,  if  such  there  were,  signed  the 
paper,  and  went  home  to  their  families  with  no  more  knowledge 
of  the  Petition,  its  origin  or  consequence,  than  the  horse  they 
rode  on."  The  remainder  of  the  speech  was  none  too  coherent, 
and  contained  a  good  deal  of  fustian.  The  next  speech  merely 
declared  the  speaker's  belief  in  Mr.  Wilkes'  legal  incapacity  to 
sit  for  Middlesex,  an  opinion  which  cannot  be  said  to  have  had 
any  particular  weight.  He  also  spoke  on  the  Debate  on  Mr. 
Grenville's  Bill  for  regulating  the  Trials  of  Controverted  Electors, 
but  the  speech  is  hardly  worth  recording.  On  the  famous  Debate 
on  Mr.  Burke's  Resolutions  relating  to  the  Disorders  in  North 
America,  Clare's  speech  was  ironical  in  its  tone  and  trivial  in  its 
matter.  For  his  constant  adherence  to  the  powers  in  office  for 
the  time  being,  Wedderburn  assailed  him  with  withering  scorn. 
"  Mr.  Wedderburn,"  the  report  runs,  "  after  settling  a  point  with 
Lord  Clare,  as  to  the  ease  with  which  Great  statesmen  might 
reconcile  inconsistencies  between  opinion  and  conduct,  from  his 
lordship's  own  example  of  the  ease  with  which  he,  who  was  for 
the  Stamp  Act  upon  principle,  could  take  a  part  at  the  head  of  the 


78  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

American  Department,  under  a  Ministry  that  had  repealed  that 
Act,  upon  the  principle  of  being  against  an  American  taxation, 
from  the  short  time  it  took  him  to  settle  those  contrarieties  " — and 
so  on. 

Clare  received  rather  rough  treatment  in  the  report  of  his  next 
speech,  taken  from  the  London  Museum — 

"  Lord  Clare  raised  his  loud  voice,  and  frequent  loud  laughs  from 
the  House.  He  talked  of  taking  example  from  futurity^  and  was 
very  vehement  for  good  humour,  and  above  all  for  unanimity  ; 
asserting  that  they  ought  to  be  all  of  his  mind,  for  that  he  and  his 
friends  would  not  change  a  jot  from  his  former  conduct.  This 
was  on  November  22nd,  1770,  on  a  Motion  for  Papers  relating 
to  the  Seizure  of  Fackland's  Island." 

His  next  speech  was  in  defence  of  Lord  Mansfield  against  the 
attack  of  Serjeant  Glynn  in  respect  of  the  Press  persecutions  and 
the  dominance  assumed  by  judges  over  juries.  In  Glynn's  speech, 
he  referred  to  the  hanging  of  forty  judges  in  King  Alfred's  time, 
though  without  putting  it  forward  as  an  example  for  present 
imitation.  In  the  course  of  his  address,  Clare  used  the  following 
remarkable  expression — "But  will  this  House,  while  it  sees  this, 
be  swayed  by  their  unworthy  motives  ?  Shall  we  adopt  the  lie  of  the 
day,  and  strengthen  the  tide  of  popular  clamour,  on  which  they 
expect  to  be  wafted  to  the  land  of  places,  pensions  and  lucrative 
jobs  ?  "  This  language  is  remarkable  mainly  for  its  similarity  to 
that  used  against  Nugent  himself.  The  speech,  however,  was  of 
a  high  level  of  reasoning  and  eloquence,  and  in  it  the  speaker 
made  use  of  a  curious  classical  parallel  in  which  Lord  Mansfield  is 
represented  as  Polyphemus  putting  out  the  eye  of  the  Cyclops' 
Law. 

On  the  Royal  Marriage  Bill  in  1772,  Lord  Clare  had  no  more  to 
say  than  that  the  House  was  competent  to  judge  for  itself  without 
the  opinion  of  the  Judges.  On  the  Bill  for  the  Relief  of  Protestant 
Dissenters,  preceding  Burke,  he  opposed  Sir  Roger  Newdegate's 
opposition  to  the  Bill.  He  said — "If  you  interrogate  a  French- 
man concerning  the  cruelty  of  their  laws  against  heretics — i.e. 
dissenters — he  will  desire  you  to  consider  whether  your  own  laws 
are  not  equally  cruel.  If  you  reply  that  they  are  never  enforced  ; 
nor  ours  enforced,  he  will  rejoin  :  while  a  man  is  a  good  subject, 
what  has  Government  to  do  with  faith  ?  "  At  this  period,  at  least, 
Clare  cannot  be  accused  of  undue  loquacity. 

Next,  on  the  Bill  to  regulate  the  Importation  and  Exportation  ot 
Corn,  Clare  called  down  upon  him  the  derision  of  Burke.  This 
was  on  May  4,  1772.  Clare  said  that  the  distresses  of  the  poor 
were  becoming  so   urgent  as  to  render  the  attempt  at  a  remedy 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  79 

absolutely  necessary  ;  that  he  and  some  others  had  made  private 
inquiry  into  this  affair  in  Essex,  and  that  they  found  a  labourer, 
who  had  six  or  seven  in  family,  could  not  after  paying  for  lodging 
and  other  indispensable  articles  afford  each  more  than  three 
farthings  a  day  for  corn  or  bread.  In  such  a  state  of  things  was 
it  not,  then,  absolutely  necessary  to  discontinue  the  bounty  for 
exportation,  and  to  prohibit  exportation  altogether,  when  the  price 
of  corn  equalled  and  exceeded  44^.  instead  of  48^'.  a  quarter  ? 

Many  important  debates  now  passed  without  any  reported  par- 
ticipation by  Nugent.  He  does  not  appear  to  have  spoken  at  all 
in  1773.  Many  constitutional  questions,  the  affairs  of  the  East 
India  Company,  Alderman  Stanhope's  attempts  to  shorten  the 
duration  of  Parliaments,  many  naval  matters,  the  state  of  the 
Linen  Trade  which  afterwards  engaged  his  attention,  the  various 
political  libel  cases,  all  found  Clare  silent,  so  far  as  any  recorded 
utterance  goes.  On  the  debate,  March  7,  1774,  on  the  King's 
Message  as  to  "  the  outrageous  proceedings  at  Boston,"  Lord  Clare 
said  "he  agreed  with  the  hon.  gentleman  (Mr.  Rice),  and  hoped 
he  should  find  the  measure  carried  through  with  unanimity  ;  he 
should  therefore  second  the  motion."  This  is  the  extent  of  his 
contribution  to  a  great  historical  debate.  His  part  in  the  debate 
on  the  motion  for  the  repeal  of  the  American  Tea  Duty  Bill,  in 
which  he  opposes  the  motion,  is  slightly  less  insignificant.  The 
motion  as  we  all  know  was  heavily  defeated. 

The  dissolution  of  Parliament  in  the  autumn  of  1774  brought 
about  the  most  interesting  election  that  ever  took  place  in  Bristol. 
Lord  Clare  and  Mr.  Brickdale  offered  themselves  for  re-election, 
but  the  Whig  party  were  much  discontented  with  the  conduct  of 
the  former,  who  was  charged  with  having  become  an  obsequious 
supporter  of  the  King's  American  policy  ;  and  Mr.  Henry  Cruger, 
by  birth  an  American,  and  an  advocate  of  conciliatory  measures 
towards  the  Colonies,  came  forward  in  opposition  to  the  once 
popular  Peer.  The  name  of  Edmund  Burke  was  brought  for- 
ward and  disapproved  of  by  Cruger's  friends.  Burke  was  then  at 
Bath  awaiting  decision.  When  he  heard,  he  proceeded  to 
Malton,  and  was  returned  there  without  opposition.  Lord  Clare, 
mortified  to  find  his  popularity  at  an  end,  and  deserted  by  some 
of  his  former  staunch  supporters,  left  the  city  that  evening,  after 
intimating  that  he  should  not  continue  the  contest.  Burke,  how- 
ever, was  returned,  but  was  rejected  for  his  share  in  supporting 
Nugent's  Irish  trade  proposals.  The  figures  were  :  Cruger,  3565  ; 
Burke,  2707  ;  Brickdale,  2456  ;  Clare,  283. 

The  American  question,  as  we  have  seen,  had  been  in  violent 
agitation  for  some  years.     The  previous  Session  had  been  mainly, 


8o  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

or  at  least  very  largely,  occupied  with  debate  on  the  East  India 
Company,  which,  having  in,  or  shortly  after,  1760,  established  its 
Supremacy  over  Southern  India,  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the 
predatory  and  unscrupulous  Company's  merchant-clerks,  and  the 
organization  of  the  country  had  therefore  occupied  a  large 
share  of  the  attention  of  the  Legislature,  resulting  in  the  Regu- 
lating Act  of  1773,  and  a  searching  inquiry  in  the  House  of 
Commons. 

In  1774  and  1775,  the  American  business  engrossed  a  very 
large  share  of  the  deliberations  of  the  Legislature.  In  spite  of  the 
sarcasms  which  had  already  been  directed  at  his  stability,  we  find 
Clare,  in  the  debate  on  the  proposed  reconciliation  with  America, 
said  that  he  "  was  for  not  submitting  to  the  Americans  in  the 
least."  He  "  ridiculed  the  opinion  of  those  who  said  we  had  a 
right  to  tax  America,  yet  ought  not  to  exercise  it."  This  appears 
to  the  ordinary  observer  to  be  a  censure  on  his  own  attitude  so 
mercilessly  treated  by  Dunning. 

On  February  24,  1775,  a  further  debate  took  place  on  the 
Bill  for  restoring  the  Trade  and  Commerce  to  New  England 
Colonies.  Burke  opposed  the  Bill,  who  complained  that  if  the 
Bill  was  not  sanguinary  in  the  sense  that  it  would  bring  about  the 
actual  shedding  of  blood,  "  it  only  meant  to  starve  some  five  hun- 
dred thousand  people,  men,  women,  and  children,  at  the  least." 
The  very  imperfect  report  ends  by  saying  that  "  On  the  subject 
of  famine,  he  was  fine  and  pathetic."  Clare  followed  him 
and  said,  "  he  would  not  enter  the  lists  with  the  right  honourable 
gentleman  who  spoke  last,  it  would  be  waging  an  unequal  war ; 
but  he  had  in  his  hand  a  friend  who  was  a  match  for  him  ;  my 
old  friend.  Sir,  Joshua  Gee,  a  great  friend  to  America,  though 
no  friend  to  America,  though  no  patriot ;  a  man  who  has 
written  better  on  trade  than  any  man  living,  and  who  knew 
more  of  America.  Now,  Sir,  my  friend,  Joshua  Gee,  with  a 
kind  of  prophetic  spirit  says,  if  ever  the  people  of  New  Eng- 
land should  aim  to  set  up  for  themselves,  what  must  we  do  ? 
Do,  Sir?  why  the  very  things  we  are  now  doing.  Joshua  Gee 
says,  ^  You  must  restrain  them  from  trade,  and  prohibit  them 
from  fishing,  and  you  will  soon  bring  them  to  their  senses.' 
I  hope  Joshua  Gee  will  be  a  prophet  to  them   too.     But  here  are 

his  words ."     It  is  not  necessary  to  quote  more,  nor  did   it 

need  the  burning  indignant  eloquence   of  Fox   to  emphasize  the 
cold-blooded  iniquity  of  the  proposition. 

We  hear  no  more  of  Lord  Clare  in  the  House  until  the 
following  year.  An  ironical  speech  of  some  ability  delivered  on 
the  occasion  of  a  debate  on  a  Message  sent  to  the  Irish  Parlia- 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  8i 

ment  does  not  call  for  repetition,  although  the  deliverance  was 
of  some  ability.  This  was  on  February  15,  1776.  It  was  shortly 
followed  by  a  brief  and  unimportant  speech  in  a  momentous  debate 
— that  on  the  ill  success  of  the  British  arms  in  America,  and  Clare 
also  spoke  shortly  on  German  treaties  for  hire  of  troops  to  act 
against  the  Americans.  All  these  speeches  were  obviously  the 
utterances  of  a  tool  of  the  Administration,  and  of  the  kind  which 
had  set  the  people  of  Bristol  against  him.  This  was  on  February 
29,  1776. 

On  April  16,  1775,  his  daughter  had  been  married  to  George 
Grenville,  and,  as  we  have  seen  elsewhere,  in  1776  he  had  been 
made  Earl  Nugent  in  the  Irish  peerage. 

Nugent's  next  recorded  speech  to  the  House  was  on  the  Address. 
The  date  was  November  21,  1777.  It  had  at  least  the  merit  of 
brevity,  and  he  gave  his  opinion  on  the  American  question  in  a 
nutshell.  He  said  that  "  the  contest  now  was  not  whether 
America  should  be  dependent  on  the  British  Parliament,  but 
whether  Great  Britain  or  America  should  be  independent  ?  Both 
could  not  be  so,  for  such  would  be  the  power  of  that  vast  con- 
tinent across  the  Atlantic,  that,  was  her  independence  established, 
this  island  must  expect  to  be  made  a  dependent  province."  This 
is  at  least  an  intelligent  and  intelligible  view  of  the  situation, 
though  it  would  probably  not  be  approved  by  the  opinion  of 
to-day.  He  spoke  several  times  in  support  of  the  Government 
in  American  matters,  and  in  one  of  his  speeches  introduced  the 
following  amusing  story — 

His  Majesty,  on  some  complaints  against  his  ministers,  told  Sir 
R.  Walpole  that  he  would  himself  see  all  the  papers  of  con- 
sequence before  any  measures  were  taken  upon  them.  Sir  Robert 
was  alarmed,  and  went  to  consult  his  brother  Horace,  what  was 
best  to  be  done.  Horace  seeing  him  so  uneasy,  laughed,  and 
advised  him  to  give  the  King  more  than  he  asked  :  "  Give  him 
all  the  papers,  and,  I  dare  say,  he  will  soon  have  enough  of  them." 
Sir  Robert  took  his  advice,  and  carried  him  a  cart-full,  telling  his 
Majesty,  that  he  had  paid  several  extra  clerks  to  assist  in 
getting  more  ready  ;  and  informed  him  further,  that  he  believed, 
when  the  whole  were  copied,  they  would  fill  five  carts  more. 
The  King  told  him  he  need  not  get  any  more  ready  till  he  had 
his  further  directions  on  the  subject ;  the  consequence  of  which 
was,  that  Sir  Robert  never  heard  a  syllable  more  of  papers  from 
his  Majesty  as  long  as  he  remained  in  office. 

In  the  early  part  of  1778,  Nugent  opposed  Fox's  motion  for 
an  inquiry  into  the  expedition  from  Canada,  and  also  the  Bill 
to    exclude    contractors    from    sitting    in    the    House.      His   next 


82  MEMOIR   OF   EARL    NUGENT 

important  speeches  were  in  connection  with  what  was  probably 
the  most  useful  and  beneficent  work  he  ever  attempted  in  Parlia- 
ment. The  distresses  of  Ireland  had  long  been  an  object  of 
regret,  even  with  many  of  those  who  had  no  particular  interest 
in  the  country.  Without  entering  into  the  causes  from  which 
these  originated,  it  will  be  sufficient  to  observe  that  they  had 
grown  to  their  present  alarming  and  deplorable  state  under  the 
unhappy  consequences  of  the  American  war  ;  so  that  the  country 
became  unequal  to  the  support  of  that  great  establishment  with 
which  it  had  (perhaps  too  inconsiderately)  encumbered  itself  when 
the  flourishing  state  of  all  other  parts  of  the  British  Empire  had 
diffused  a  considerable  degree  of  prosperity  even  thither.  This 
state  of  things  became  now  so  notorious,  and  the  consequences 
were  said  to  be  so  urgent,  that  the  ministers  were  at  length 
convinced  of  the  necessity  of  paying  attention  to  them  ;  and  of 
affording  some  immediate  satisfaction  to  the  feelings,  if  not  an 
entire  redress  to  the  grievances,  of  the  people.^ 

Mr.  Lecky  also  gives  a  terrible  picture  of  the  state  of  the 
country,  as  does  Sir  Erskine  May  in  his  Constitutional  History. 
Encouragement  bad  already  been  given  to  the  Irish  Fisheries  in 
1775,  and  in  April  1778  Nugent  brought  the  question  of  the 
relaxation  of  the  Irish  Commercial  Code  before  the  English  Parlia- 
ment. In  the  debate  that  ensued  he  was  supported  with  great 
knowledge  and  genius  by  Edmund  Burke,  and  the  movement 
forwarded  by  Buckingham  was  favoured  by  Lord  North.  It 
was  ao-reed  that  nothino-  could  be  done  to  remove  the  restrictions 
on  wool  and  the  woollen  manufactures,  which  were  the  most 
important  articles  of  the  Commercial  Code  ;  but  it  was  proposed, 
with  this  exception,  Ireland  might  send  all  her  products  to  the 
English  settlements  and  plantations,  and  might  receive  those  of  the 
colonies,  with  the  exception  of  tobacco,  in  return,  without  their 
being  first  unladen  in  England.  A  small  attempt  to  create  a 
manufacture  in  Ireland  had  been  speedily  crushed  ;  but  it  was 
now  proposed  to  allow  them  to  send  their  glass  to  any  country 
except  Great  Britain,  and  it  was  also  proposed  to  repeal  a  pro- 
hibitory duty  which  excluded  from  England  cotton  varn  made 
in  Ireland,  to  admit  Irish  sail-cloth  and  cordage  free  of  duty. 

These  resolutions  were  thrown  into  the  form  of  Bills ;  but  at 
once,  from  every  manufacturing  town  in  England  a  fierce  storm 
of  opposition  arose.  Almost  the  whole  commercial  class  in 
England  protested  against  any  measure  allowing  the  Irish  to 
participate  in  the  most  limited  degree  in  British  trade,  or  even  to 

^  Annual  Register. 


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ROBERT,    EARL   NUGENT 
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MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  83 

dispose  of  their  own  commodities  in  foreign  markets.  Lancashire 
feared  that  checked  and  printed  linen  from  Ireland  would  supersede 
her  products  in  the  colonies,  and  every  trade  which  was  in  the  re- 
motest degree  connected  with  the  proposed  Bill  flung  itself  ardently 
into  opposition.  It  was  not  a  party  question,  but  a  spontaneous 
ebullition  of  intense  commercial  selfishness.  London  alone  pre- 
served neutrality.  Burke  lost  the  seat  at  Bristol  in  which  he  had 
succeeded  Nugent  at  the  general  election  in  1780,  chiefly  on 
account  of  the  courageous  and  very  brilliant  part  he  had  taken  on 
this  question,  and  Lord  North  was  so  intimidated  that  he  consented 
to  reduce  the  measure  to  its  smallest  proportions.  In  Bristol 
Nugent's  action  was  ascribed  to  a  diabolical  spite  against  the 
city  on  account  of  his  rejection  in  1774,  while  Burke  was  charged 
with  a  design  to  promote  the  interests  of  his  native  country  by 
injuring  those  of  England.  The  Irish  were  forbidden  absolutely 
to  export  to  the  colonies  wool,  woollen  and  cotton  manufactures, 
hats,  glass,  hops,  gunpowder,  and  coals,  and  were  not  allowed  to 
export  iron  or  ironwares  till  the  Irish  Parliament  had  imposed  a 
prescribed  duty  on  them  ;  besides  many  other  disabilities.  I  do 
not,  however,  propose  to  reproduce  Nugent's  speeches  and  writings 
on  the  subject,  which  were  many  and  able,  but  which  would  take 
up  too  much  space. 

In  the  same  session.  May  26,  1778,  Nugent  spoke  against  Mr. 
Vyner's  motion  for  an  inquiry  into  the  Saratoga  Convention,  and 
the  conduct  of  General  Burgoyne,  his  speech  being  very  short 
and  plain,  and  he  was  followed  by  Mr.  Wilkes.  He  also  seconded 
Townshend's  motion  for  an  Address  to  the  Kin?,  asking  for  some 
mark  of  royal  favour  to  be  bestowed  on  the  family  of  the  late 
Earl  of  Chatham.  "His  lordship,"  says  the  report,  "was  not 
more  sparing  of  his  encomiums  on  the  late  earl  than  Mr. 
Townshend  had  been  ;  and  to  give  a  striking  proof  that,  like 
St.  John  in  Pope's  Essay  on  Man^  his  last  wish  was  for  his  country's 
good,  he  instanced  his  last  words  to  his  son.  Lord  Pitt,  when  that 
young  nobleman,  previous  to  his  departure  for  Gibraltar,  was 
taking  leave  of  his  dying  father,  '  Go,  my  son,'  said  the  venerable 
patriot,  '  go  whither  your  country  calls  you  ;  let  her  engross  all 
your  attention  ;  spare  not  a  moment,  which  is  due  to  her  service, 
weeping  over  an  old  man  who  will  soon  be  no  more.' " 

The  disputes  between  Keppel  and  Palliser  came  to  the  fore  in 
the  autumn  of  1778.  Nugent  censured  the  latter  for  taking  notice 
of  anonymous  publications,  doubting  if  either  of  them  had  suffered 
in  reputation,  and  gibed  at  the  French  claim  to  victory  in  the 
Ushant  engagement.  Early  in  the  next  year  he  was  again 
introducing  measures  for  the  relief  of  Ireland.     On   April   19  his 


84  MEMOIR   OF   EARL  NUGENT 

feeling  against  the  Marriage  Act  had  so  far  deepened  that,  "  in 
his  idea,  the  great  and  real  cause  of  the  progress  of  adultery  was 
that  abominable  statute,  the  Marriage  Act,  a  Bill  which  struck  at 
the  root  of  personal  freedom,  and  which  was  first  brought  into 
Parliament  to  tickle  the  vanity  of  some  noble  Lords  in  the  other 
House."  His  next  contribution  was  on  a  much  larger  subject, 
and  with  great  tact  and  ability  he  opposed  the  inquiry  into  the 
conduct  of  the  American  war,  and  moved  that  the  Chairman  do 
leave  the  chair,  but  withdrew  the  motion.  Lord  North  and  Fox 
both  took  an  active  part  in  the  debate  which  occurred  on  April 
29,  1779.  Nugent  also  spoke  several  times  afterwards  on  the 
same  subject,  repeatedly  assuring  General  Burgoyne  and  Lord 
Howe  that  he  made  no  charge  against  them.  On  the  Bill  for 
doubling  the  Militia,  Nugent  made  an  alarmist  speech,  declared 
that  the  country  stood  alone,  and  urged  that  it  should  rouse 
itself ;  and  he  further  advised  war  against  Spain  and  France,  the 
former  of  whom  might  be  deeply  wounded  in  South  America. 
His  impassioned,  and  it  would  seem  almost  lachrymose  peroration 
runs — "  He  had  never  asked  nor  received  a  favour  from  the  noble 
lord  in  the  blue  ribbon"  (Lord  North).  "He  was  a  man  when 
the  noble  lord  was  a  boy.  The  noble  lord  was  now  a  man,  and  he 
was  sinking  into  his  second  childhood.  Sinking  as  he  was  into 
the  vale  of  years,  he  hoped  to  see  his  country  conquer  her  foes, 
and  regain  her  glory."  His  lordship  was  proceeding  to  state  some 
plan  of  operations  for  the  navy,  when  the  Attorney-General 
(Wedderburn)  rose  and  begged  to  prevent  the  noble  lord's  zeal 
from  carrying  him  too  far,  by  moving  that  the  question  might  be 
read. 

The  same  Bill  came  on  for  argument  a  few  weeks  later. 
Jenkinson  and  Townshend  had  both  participated  in  the  debate, 
when  Nugent  rose  to  speak  on  the  subject,  but  beginning  almost 
immediately  to  enter  upon  the  nature  of  the  Lords'  amendments,  he 
was  reminded  by  the  Speaker  that  he  was  out  of  order  ;  for  the 
'amendments,  whatever  they  might  be,  were  not  yet  known  to  the 
House,  the  present  question  being,  "whether  the  amendments 
made  by  the  Lords  should  be  then  read." 

Nugent,  in  the  following  session,  opposed  the  Earl  of  Upper- 
Ossery's  motion  of  Censure  against  Ministers  for  their  conduct 
towards  Ireland  on  December  6 — 

"  His  lordship  entered  into  a  short  history  of  his  own  conduct 
respecting  Ireland  the  two  preceding  sessions.  He  said  all  his 
endeavours  had  failed,  but  that  was  not  the  fault  of  ministers,  but 
of  the  majority  of  that  House,  operated  upon  by  the  prejudices  of 
the  people  without  doors,  who,  instigated  by  personal  and  local 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  85 

interests,  added  to  the  difficulty.  Such  being  the  temper  of  the 
House,  after  a  great  deal  of  time  and  unavailing  labours,  he  was 
obliged  to  give  way  to  the  current,  and  determined  never  again  to 
trouble  the  House  by  taking  anv  active  part.  .   .   . 

"  For  his  part,  he  thought  that  his  propositions  were  founded  in 
liberality  and  framed  equally  to  advance  the  interests  of  both 
countries.  They  had  not  changed  by  any  events  that  had  since 
intervened.  His  idea  was  this  :  give  Ireland  everything  she  can 
ask,  which  may  promise  to  produce  substantial  benefit  to  that 
country  ;  but  which  will  not  touch  or  materially  affect  the  interest 
of  this.  There  were  various  branches  of  commerce  and  manufacture 
that  England  had  monopolized  to  herself,  to  the  great  detriment 
and  impoverishment  of  Ireland,  which  afforded  no  advantage  to 
herself,  or  but  in  a  very  slight  degree.  Here  the  injury  was 
doubled  j  for  Ireland  not  only  lost  what  was  thus  withheld  from 
her,  but  England  forced  the  trade  into  other  channels,  and  to 
other  nations,  who  rivalled  her  :  thus  the  benefit  she  would  derive 
from  the  riches  and  from  the  consequent  strength  and  assist- 
ance of  Ireland  were  transferred  to  our  foreign  enemies  and 
rivals.  .  .  . 

"  He  loved  his  native  country  ;  he  loved  and  revered  England  ; 
and  God  forbid  that  he  should  even  wish  to  promote  any  local 
interest  whatever  contrary  to  those  of  the  British  empire  !  It 
was,  indeed,  impossible  to  take  up  any  local  prejudices  on  either 
side  of  the  water,  without  doing  infinite  mischief  to  the  very 
party  who  acted  under  their  influence.  The  two  main  pillars  on 
which  the  motion  rested  were,  that  ministers  had  neglected  to 
follow  up  the  Address  with  effective  measures,  and  that  they  had 
no  plan.  Both,  in  his  opinion,  were  equally  unfounded  :  ministers 
could  have  done  nothing  till  after  the  Irish  Parliament  met ;  and 
as  to  the  imputed  delay  of  the  plan,  it  was  a  nugatory  objection, 
because,  how  was  it  possible  to  give  a  plan  till  the  sentiments  of 
the  people  of  Ireland  were  known,  through  the  medium  of  their 
Parliament  ?  A  few  days  had  only  elapsed  :  it  was  necessary  that 
the  papers  should  be  considered,  and  other  necessary  steps  taken. 
When  these  were  once  complied  with,  he  would  be  bold  to  say 
that  it  was  impossible  for  three  sensible  men,  well  inclined  to 
forward  the  purport  of  their  meeting,  to  spend  three  hours  in 
devising  a  plan  which  would  give  perfect  satisfaction  to  both 
kingdoms."  On  this  last  statement,  Townshend  replied  with 
great  effect.  Lord  Nugent  did  not  adhere  to  his  threat  to  concern 
himself  no  more  in  the  matter. 

In  the  debate  (February  2,  1780)  on  the  complaint  against  the 
Duke   of  Chandos  for   concerning   himself  in    the   Southampton 


86  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

election,   Lord    Nugent   told  a  little  story,  and   expressed   some 
opinions. 

He  observed  that,  although  he  did  not  rise  to  defend  the  conduct 
of  the  noble  duke,  or  controvert  the  facts  stated  in  the  report,  he 
thought  it  was  totally  unnecessary  to  proceed  further  in  this 
business.  He  endeavoured  to  divert  the  attention  of  the  House  by 
a  story,  in  order  to  show  that  custom  had  in  some  measure 
sanctioned  such  a  conduct.  He  said,  that  in  the  year  1746,  when 
Mr.  Pitt  was  appointed  Pavmaster  of  the  Forces,  in  the  room  of 
Mr.  Winnington,  Mr.  Pitt,  on  his  vacating  his  seat,  was  re-elected 
for  a  Sussex  borough,  through  the  interest  of  the  late  Duke  of 
Newcastle.  What  was  the  consequence  ?  A  complaint  was 
preferred  to  that  House  bv  the  unsuccessful  member  against 
the  noble  duke,  as  a  Peer  of  Parliament,  and  Lord-Lieutenant,  and 
against  the  great  Lord  Chatham,  as  being  returned  by  an  undue 
influence,  one  of  them  the  best,  the  other  the  greatest  man  that 
ever  lived  ;  for  he  believed  God  never  made  a  better  man  than  the 
late  Duke  of  Newcastle,  nor  an  abler  statesman  and  sounder 
patriot  than  Mr.  Pitt.  JBut  the  complaint  was  dismissed  by  a 
majority  of  fullv  three  to  one.  The  noble  duke  was  naturally 
hospitable  and  generous,  and  he  might  have  possibly  given  a  few 
dinners  on  the  occasion  ;  nor  would  it  be  easy  at  any  time,  he 
believed,  to  prevent  noble  peers  from  concerning  themselves  in 
elections  either  in  a  more  direct  or  covert  wav.  The  matter  was 
then  very  properly  let  to  sleep,  and  he  hoped  the  example  would 
be  followed  on  the  present  occasion,  and  this  would  likewise  be  let 
to  sleep.  That  being  his  wish,  he  would  move,  "  That  the  said 
report  be  taken  into  consideration  on  that  day  four  months." 
Wilkes,  who  followed,  did  not  agree  as  to  the  triviality  of  the 
offence,  which  he  declared  "  was  of  a  most  atrocious  nature,  and  was 
infinitely  criminal  in  its  nature  and  import."  Nevertheless  Nugent's 
motion  was  carried  by  eighty-seven  votes  to  thirty. 

Burke,  in  spite  of  his  veneration  for  the  constitution,  saw 
clearly  that  some  reforms  were  necessary,  and  therefore  in  February 
1780  brought  forward  his  Establishment  Bill  for  securing  the 
independence  of  Parliament,  and  the  economical  reformation  of  the 
civil  and  other  establishments.  As  this  was  for  the  sweeping  away 
of  useless  places,  lavish  pensions,  and  the  ridiculous  extravagance 
which  enabled  the  Court  to  keep  a  considerable  number  of 
members  of  Parliament  either  in  its  immediate  pay  or  bound  to  it 
by  the  expectation  of  future  profit,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that 
Nugent  should  oppose  it,  apart  from  the  fact  that  he  was  attached 
to  the  Government  of  North,  which  succeeded  in  defeating  Burke's 
measure   in    detail.     Nugent    naturally    also    opposed    Dunning's 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  87 

motion  respecting  the  influence  of  the  Crown  and  the  abuses  in 
the  public  expenditure,  speaking  with  great  ability,  but  drawing 
down  upon  himself  a  reply  from  Dunning,  that  he  could  name  fifty 
members  of  the  House  who  totally  reprobated  out  of  the  House  the 
measures  they  supported  within  it.  He  also  opposed  Sir  George 
Savile's  motion  for  an  account  of  pensions,  the  Bill  for  disallow- 
ing revenue  officers  for  voting  at  elections,  and  Sawbridge's 
motion  for  shortening  the  duration  of  parliaments.  He  supported 
(May  24,  1780)  the  Bill  to  empower  the  King  to  make  peace 
with  America,  but  leave  to  introduce  it  was  refused. 

On  the  debate  on  the  Navy  Estimates,  the  defence  of  Sir  Hugh 
Palliser  again  arose.  Fox  complained  that  the  House  had  not 
entered  into  an  inquiry  as  to  the  appointment  of  "  a  person  con- 
victed of  having  preferred  a  malicious  and  ill-founded  accusation 
against  his  superior  officer."  Nugent  rose  to  order,  and  spoke  with 
a  certain  amount  of  dignity,  real  or  assumed. 

Earl  Nugent  spoke  to  order.  His  lordship,  with  great  earnest- 
ness, begged  for  the  honour  and  dignity  of  the  House,  that  every 
matter  which  led  to  angry  discussion  and  personal  abuse  might 
be  avoided.  He  said,  it  was  gentlemen  suffering  their  good  sense 
and  sober  judgment  to  be  lost  in  the  rage  of  party  altercation, 
during  the  last  Parliament,  which  had  disgraced  that  House  in  the 
eyes  of  all  the  world.  Did  gentlemen  consider,  that  everything 
said  within  those  walls  was  sent  abroad,  was  translated,  and  was 
read  by  every  man,  foreigner  as  well  as  native,  who  could  get  at  a 
common  newspaper  ?  From  the  personal  abuse  thrown  out  in  the 
last  Parliament,  the  inhabitants  of  other  countries  were  led  no 
longer  to  regard  the  members  of  that  House  as  the  grave  represent- 
atives of  a  great  and  a  free  people  ;  they  thought  the  British 
Parliament  had  lost  its  honour  and  dignity,  and  that  its  resolves 
were  no  longer  the  result  of  that  deliberation,  which  were  the 
essential  characteristics  of  national  wisdom  and  true  greatness.  He 
hoped  to  God,  therefore,  that  gentlemen  would,  from  a  sense  of  the 
honour  and  dignity  of  Parliament,  not  convert  that  House  into  a 
Polish  Diet,  and  make  the  necessary  qualifications  of  an  orator  with- 
in those  walls,  not  the  best  and  most  intimate  acquaintances  with 
the  works  of  Cicero  and  Demosthenes,  but  the  greatest  proficiency 
and  the  most  perfect  skill  acquired  in  the  school  of  Mr.  Angelo  and 
other  masters  of  defence.  If  matters  went  on  thus,  the  whole 
scheme  of  political  education  would  be  turned  topsy-turvy,  and 
that  member  only  would  in  future  be  qualified  to  be  First  Lord  of 
the  Treasury,  who  was  the  best  fencing-master  in  the  kingdom.  In 
return.  Sir  Robert  Smith  called  Nugent  to  order.  Nugent  spoke 
again,  after  which  Fox  resumed  his  speech. 


88  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Early  in  1781  we  find  Nugent  again  opposing  Burke's  Civil 
Establishment  Bill.  He  opposed  it  on  February  9,  and  on  the  26th  he 
spoke  again,  but  this  time  he  met  with  a  notable  antagonist,  William 
Pitt  the  younger,  who  made  his  maiden  speech  on  this  occasion. 
For  that  reason  I  reproduce  the  speech,  which  is  as  follows — 

Earl  Nugent  declared  himself  a  zealous  friend  to  public  economy. 
Without  it,  he  was  persuaded   this  nation   could  not  be  saved ; 
economy,  in  our  public  expenditure,  was  as  necessary  as  firmness 
and  wisdom  in  our  councils,  as  valour  and  conduct  in  our  expedi- 
tions and  enterprises.     But  it  did  not  follow  either  that  he  ought 
to,  much  less  that  the  House  should,  embrace  every  economical 
project  that  was  offered,  however  plausibly   introduced,  however 
respectable  the  quarter  from  which  it  came.      No  man  in  that 
House    entertained    a.    greater    degree    of    esteem    for    the    hon. 
gentleman  who  introduced   the   Bill  than  he  did  ;   he   knew   his 
integrity,  and  he  had  seen  many  proofs  of  his  zeal  to  serve  his 
country;  great,  therefore,  as  his  abilities  were,  they  were  not,  he 
was    convinced,   superior    to    his    virtue.     The    hon.    gentleman, 
however,  must  pardon  him,  if  he  did  not  agree  with  him  entirely 
as  to  his   Bill.     In   sincerity  he  would  say,  he  disapproved  of  it 
totally,  and   he  would  tell   the   hon.  gentleman  why  he  did  so. 
The  title  of  the   Bill  was  a  good  one :  the  preamble  also  had 
something  catching  in  it;   but  what  was  the  object  of  the  Bill 
itself?      To   introduce  an  unconstitutional    innovation;    and   to 
resume  from  the  crown  what  had  been  solemnly  granted  to  his 
Majesty  for  life.     To  such  a  proposition  he  never  would  consent, 
notwithstanding  what  had  been  said  of  the  resolution  of  the  6th 
of  April,  which  declared  the  competency  of  the  House  to  correct 
and  examine  abuses  in  the  expenditure  of  the  Civil  List  revenues. 
That  resolution  passed,  as  gentlemen  well  knew,  at  an  hour  when 
such  was  the  temper  of  the  House,  that  it  would  have  been  mad- 
ness to  hav^e  opposed  it.     It  did  not  follow,  therefore,  that  every 
gentleman   approved   of  it.     He  never  had,  nor  could   he   think 
that  (allowing  that  resolution  all  the  respect  due  to  an  entry  on 
the  journals)  it  followed  of  course,  that  the  present  Bill  ought  to 
be  adopted.     What !   would  that  House  consent   to  degrade   the 
sovereign,    diminish    the    lustre    of    the    crown,    and    reduce    his 
Majesty  to  a  worse  situation  than  that  of  any  private  gentleman 
in  his  kingdom  ?     Would  they  deprive  him  of  the  management 
of  his   income,  and   put  him   into   the   situation  of  a  minor,  by 
obliging  him  to  submit  to  the  tutelage  of  Parliament  ?     The  Bill 
interfered  with  the  privy  purse,  and  took  away  the  independency 
of  the  Crown:  to  admit  it  to  pass,  would  be  to  reduce  his  Majesty 
to  the  condition  of  a  mere  titular  monarch ;  a  king  without  power. 


MEMOIR  OF   EARL   NUGENT  89 

a  king  but  in  name,  like  the  King  of  Poland,  or  a  sovereign  like 
the  Doge  of  Venice,  altogether  dependent  on  others,  and  subject 
to  their  capricious  control.  Let  gentlemen  consider,  that  such 
a  measure  would  essentially  wound  the  constitution ;  for  each 
branch  of  the  legislature,  each  of  the  three  states  ought  to  have 
its  share  of  independency,  and  surely  the  first  state,  that  which 
was  clothed  with  the  supreme  executive  power,  should  never  be 
rendered  less  glorious,  less  independent,  than  the  other  two.  The 
real  beauty  and  excellence  of  our  constitution  was  its  nice  equipoise, 
that  equal  balance,  which  gave  it  stability,  and  at  once  secured  the 
Crown  in  its  legal  rights,  and  the  people  in  their  freedom  and 
immunities.  The  present  Bill  went  directly  to  move  the  balance 
and  destroy  the  equipoise ;  let  the  House,  therefore,  however  much 
they  might  be  convinced  that  some  of  the  branches  were  rotten, 
take  care  in  their  attempt  to  remove  the  dead  wood,  that  they  did 
not  destroy  the  trunk  of  the  tree  itself.  The  hon.  gentleman 
who  had  introduced  the  Bill,  he  did  not  doubt,  really  believed  it 
w^ould  have  the  salutary  effect  he  had  dwelt  on,  when  he  intro- 
duced it  with  such  a  warmth  and  earnestness  of  commendation. 
Other  men,  and  men  of  great  wisdom,  had  been  equally  deceived. 
Plato,  for  instance,  and  he  flattered  himself  he  should  not  offend 
by  comparing  the  hon.  gentleman  to  Plato.  The  hon.  gentle- 
man's project  was  as  impracticable  as  Plato's  Commonwealth,  or 
Mr.  T.  Moore's  Utopia.  In  describing  its  good  effects,  the  hon. 
gentleman  had  been  describing  the  purity  of  his  own  mind,  and, 
without  knowing  it,  it  was  that  which  the  hon.  gentleman  wished 
to  reduce  into  practice;  but  the  times  were  too  bad,  and  dis- 
sipation too  general,  to  render  his  honest  endeavours  successful. 
There  were  thirteen  pages  in  the  Bill,  and  twenty-seven  clauses 
which  related  to  the  civil  establishment ;  he  appealed  therefore  to 
every  gentleman  present,  whether  it  was  likely,  that  so  hetero- 
geneous a  mass  of  matter,  however  plausible  in  theory  and  specu- 
lation, could  easily  be  carried  into  execution?  But  this  was  not 
his  only  objection  to  the  Bill;  the  title  of  it  was  not  its  true 
description ;  for  the  title  said,  that  the  monies  saved  were  to  be 
applied  to  the  public  service,  whereas  there  was  not  one  word  in 
the  Bill  which  enacted  such  an  appropriation;  on  the  contrary, 
it  was  expressly  enacted,  that  the  balance  of  the  Civil  List  revenue 
should,  after  all  savings,  be  laid  out  for  an  establishment  for  the 
use  of  the  Royal  Family.  Therefore,  he  repeated  it,  the  Bill  did 
not  apply  the  savings  to  the  use  of  the  public  as  it  pretended.  If 
the  Bill  had  appropriated  all  the  savings  to  the  public  service, 
something  indeed  might  have  been  said  for  it,  his  objections 
would   have   been  fewer ;   but  as  it  was,  it  surely   had  not   the 


90  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

pretensions  to  encouragement.  Economy  was  most  essentially 
necessary  -,  nothing  but  the  most  rigid  economy  could  possibly 
save  us.  The  Treasury  could  not  bear  a  greater  load  than  it  now 
had.  But  instead  of  harassing  the  minister  with  these  chimerical 
notions,  all  our  ideas  should  be  consolidated  in  general  exertion 
and  simple  economy.  The  minister  must  be  a  Jack  of  all  trades, 
he  must  understand  everything,  to  be  able  to  go  through  his 
business.  He  wished  for  economy,  but  he  would  not  procure  it, 
by  setting  the  King  down  to  an  ordinary,  and  making  him  more 
dependent  than  any  man  in  his  dominions.  All  the  advantages 
which  were  likely  to  flow  from  the  present  Bill,  and  many  more, 
much  more  important  benefits,  would  arise  from  that  commission 
of  accounts  which  the  last  gentleman  had  so  affected  to  despise. 
Surely  the  hon.  gentleman  had  not  read  the  two  reports  delivered 
in  by  the  commissioners  :  if  he  had,  he  would  have  seen  therein 
substantial  benefit  already  derived  from  that  commission,  as  a 
pleasing  earnest  of  what  was  to  come ;  he  would  have  seen  five  or 
six  public-spirited  gentlemen,  indefatigable  in  the  pursuit  of  their 
object,  detained  by  no  recess  of  business,  and  biassed  by  no  parti- 
ality, doing  for  the  public  what  had  long  been  requisite,  by 
securing,  in  the  first  place,  an  immediate  transition  of  public 
subsidies  from  the  nation  at  large  to  the  coff'ers  of  the  State ;  and 
in  the  second,  that  money  should  no  sooner  be  issued  from  the 
Exchequer  than  it  was  wanted  for  the  public  service.  In  one  tax 
alone  they  had  ascertained  ^650,000  to  be  in  the  hands  of  the 
collectors,  which  he  would  venture  to  say  was  a  national  benefit, 
far  more  important  than  any  the  present  Bill  could  produce.  But 
after  all,  if  the  Bill  passed,  did  gentlemen  who  had  dwelt  with  so 
much  energy  on  the  petitions  presented  last  year,  think  that  this 
Bill  would  satisfy  the  petitioners  ?  Undoubtedly  it  would  not. 
Their  object  went  much  farther.  What  said  the  associations  ? 
Give  us  annual  or  triennial  parliaments.  Every  man  in  the  king- 
dom now  set  up  for  a  reformer,  at  least  every  man  wished  to  be  a 
legislator,  and  vote  at  elections.  How  expedient,  how  practicable, 
how  salutary  such  a  matter  would  prove,  the  House  might  judge 
from  what  had  happened  lately  at  Coventry  I  He  apologized  to 
Mr.  Burke,  and  said  he  meant  no  reflection  on  him,  when  he 
talked  of  State  tinkers,  but  such  were  now  to  be  found  almost  in 
every  country  town  ;  there  were  those  among  the  crowd  of  modern 
reformers,  who,  not  content  with  tinkering  the  British  Constitu- 
tion, attempted  to  tinker  that  of  Ireland,  and  would  fain  have  new 
hammered  it ;  for  his  part,  he  did  not  admire  such  workmen,  they 
might  do  much  mischief,  and  injure  that  which  he  verily  believed 
would  not  receive  any  benefit  from  their  labours. 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  91 

The  Honourable  William  Pitt  entered  Parliament  in  his  twenty- 
second  year,  and  had  taken  his  seat  for  Appleby  on  January  23, 
1781.  He  "now  rose,"  we  read,  "  for  the  first  time,  and  in  a 
speech  directly  in  answer  to  matter  that  had  fallen  out  in  the 
course  of  debate,  displayed  great  and  astonishing  powers  of  elo- 
quence. His  voice  was  rich  and  striking,  full  of  melody  and  force ; 
his  manner  easy  and  elegant ;  his  language  beautiful  and  luxuriant. 
He  gave  in  his  first  essay,  a  specimen  of  eloquence  not  unworthy 
the  son  of  his  immortal  parent." 

He  made  his  first  speech,  says  Stanhope,  in  his  Life  of  Pitt, 
i.  54,  on  February  26,  in  support  of  Burke's  Bill  for  Economical 
Reform.  Under  the  circumstances,  this  first  speech  took  him  a 
little  by  surprise.  Lord  Nugent  was  speaking  against  the  Bill, 
and  Mr.  Byng,  member  for  Middlesex,  asked  Mr.  Pitt  to  follow 
in  reply.  Mr.  Pitt  gave  a  doubtful  answer,  but  in  the  course  of  Lord 
Nugent's  speech  resolved  that  he  would  not.  Mr.  Byng,  however, 
had  understood  him  to  assent,  and  had  said  so  to  some  friends 
around  him  ;  so  that  the  moment  Lord  Nugent  sat  down  all  these 
gentlemen,  with  one  voice,  called  out,  "  Mr.  Pitt  !  Mr.  Pitt  !  " 
and  by  their  cry  probably  kept  down  every  other  member.  Mr. 
Pitt,  finding  himself  thus  called  upon,  and  observing  that  the 
House  waited  to  hear  him,  thought  himself  bound  to  rise.  The 
sudden  call  did  not  for  a  moment  discompose  him  ;  he  was  from 
the  beginning  collected  and  unembarrassed,  and  far  from  reciting 
a  set  speech,  addressed  himself  at  once  to  the  business  of  reply. 
Never,  says  Bishop  Tomline,  were  higher  expectations  formed  of 
any  person  upon  his  first  coming  into  Parliament,  and  never  were 
expectations  more  completely  fulfilled.  The  silvery  clearness  of 
his  voice,  his  lofty  yet  unpresuming  demeanour,  set  off  to  the  best 
advantage  his  close  and  well-arrayed  though  unpremeditated  argu- 
ments, while  the  ready  selection  of  his  words  and  the  perfect 
structure  of  his  sentences  were  such  as  the  most  practised  speakers 
often  fail  to  show.  Not  only  did  he  please,  it  may  be  said  that 
he  astonished  the  House.  Scarce  one  mind  in  which  a  reverent 
thought  of  Chatham  did  not  rise. 

About  this  time  Lord  Nugent's  speeches  become  rarer,  and 
it  was  in  this  year  that  he  ceased  to  hold  office.  He  spoke 
pleasantly,  but  very  briefly,  in  favour  of  the  recall  of  Lord  Rodney, 
and  his  speech  on  the  recognition  of  American  Independence 
could  not  have  well  been  shorter.  "  For  some  years  back,"  he 
said,  "  he  had  seen  the  necessity  of  recognizing  the  independence 
of  America  ;  but  those  who  were  now  so  forward  to  move  for, 
or  at  least  recommend  it,  were  formerly  very  backward  on  that 
head.     He  opposed  the   motion  (Fox's)  because  it  was  unprece- 


92  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

dented  to  call  for  articles  of  a  treaty  pending  a  negociation.'*' 
This  was  on  December  i8,  1782.  Prior  to  this,  however,  he  had 
spoken  in  the  debate  on  the  inconveniences  of  the  Marriage  Act. 
He  suggested  a  curious  case,  not  hitherto  adverted  to,  against 
which  the  present  Bill  could  not  provide  a  remedy.  "Supposing," 
said  he,  "  a  man  who  had  been  married  illegally  in  these  new- 
built  churches,  and  whose  wife  is  still  living,  should,  pending  this 
Act,  marry  another  with  due  formalities,  I  should  be  glad  to  know 
how  Parliament  could  then  interfere  to  rescue  the  former  wife 
from  infamy,  or  retrieve  in  her  case  the  consequences  of  that 
improvident  Act.  We  should  have  no  other  possible  resource  but 
to  adopt  the  scheme  of  Dr.  Madan  ;  and  then  when  one  man 
met  the  indulgence  of  having  two  wives,  perhaps  others  would 
think  themselves  entitled  to  the  same." 

In  the  following  year  he  opposed  the  famous  resolution  on  the 
report  as  to  the  King's  opinion  on  Fox's  India  Bill,  in  a  speech 
which,  so  far  as  the  report  goes,  offers  no  indication  of  advanced 
years,  and  was  followed  by  young  Pitt,  who  went  out  of  his  way 
to  speak  courteously  of  him.  He  spoke  very  strongly,  though 
disclaiming  any  personal  objection  to  Mr.  Fox,  against  the  pro- 
posed dictatorship  of  the  author  of  the  India  Bill.  He  spoke  very 
solemnly  and  impressively  against  Mr.  Coke's  motion  against  the 
continuance  of  the  Ministry,  and  a  few  days  later  (February  20, 
1784)  he  advocated  a  reconciliation  between  Fox  and  Pitt.  His 
mediation  did  not  succeed,  as  we  know,  but  the  speech  was  a 
memorable  one,  and  deserved  a  better  fate,  by  which  the  course 
of  history  might  have  been  materially  modified. 

The  occasion  was  the  debate  on  Mr.  Powys'  motion,  "  That 
the  House  relies  on  the  Kind's  Readiness  to  form  a  United  and 
Efficient  Administration." 

Earl  Nugent  recommended  conciliation,  by  which  alone  an  end 
could  be  put  to  the  present  distractions.  Gentlemen  were  coy  of 
one  another  at  present,  and  therefore  stood  upon  their  punctilios  ; 
but  if  they  would  at  once  agree  to  meet  one  another,  he  would 
lay  his  life  that  they  would  trust  each  other,  and  that  they  would 
act  with  confidence.  It  was  not  the  first  time  that  he  had  been 
instrumental  in  effecting  a  conciliation  between  two  great  men, 
who  had  much  greater  cause  to  be  at  variance  than  the  two  right 
hon.  members.  The  two  great  men  were  Mr.  Pelham  and  Lord 
Granville.  His  lordship  had  appointed  them  to  meet  at  his  house, 
and  their  meeting  was  to  be  kept  a  profound  secret.  One  repaired 
to  his  house  quite  muffied  up,  so  that  it  was  impossible  for  any  one 
who  saw  him  to  know  him.  He  just  introduced  them  to  one 
another,  and  left  them  to  themselves.     He  took  care  in  the  mean 


MEMOIR   OF  EARL   NUGENT  93 

time  to  have  a  good  supper  ready  for  them,  of  which  they  partook ; 
they  drank  heartily  after  it  ;  the  wine  put  an  end  to  the  reserve 
on  which  they  had  acted  ;  they  spoke   freely  ;     confidence   was 
established    between    them ;    they    became    sincere    friends,    and 
remained  so,  and  cared  not  the  next  day  who  knew  the  story  of 
their  interview.     Thus   was  this  coalition  (and,  by  the  bye,  this 
showed   he  was  a  friend  to  coalitions)  effected  in  a   single  ni2;ht 
over  a  glass  of  good  wine.     He  was   not  much  acquainted  with 
the  two  right  hon.  gentlemen  now  sitting  opposite  to  each  other  ; 
but  if  they  would  give  him  leave  he  would  bring  them  together  at 
his    house  ;  they  should    have    an    excellent    supper,  the  best    of 
wines  ;  they  might,  if  they  pleased,  get  gloriously  drunk  ;  and  he 
would   be  bound  that  over  their  bottle  they  would  lose  that  stifF 
reserve  that  wedded  them  now  to  their  punctilios,  and  confidence 
would  spring  up  where  diffidence  reigned  before.     The  case  of  the 
Earl  of  Chatham  and  the  late  King  was  a  striking  proof,  that  how 
much  soever  men  might  have  differed,  they  might  at  last  come 
together,  and  place  as  much  confidence  in  each  other  as  if  they  had 
never   disagreed.     The  case  was   this  :   the   King  had  in  a   great 
measure  proscribed  all  those  who  paid  their  respects  at  Leicester 
House  to  the  late  Prince  of  Wales ;  Lord  Chatham  happened  to 
have  been  employed  in  the  service  of  the  Prince  ;  this  was  of  itself 
enough  to  ruin   him  at  St.  James's,   and  render  him   personally 
disagreeable  to  the  King.     But  this  was  not  all  :  the  King  was 
known  to  have  a  great  partiality  to  the  Hanoverian  dominions ;  on 
the  other  hand.  Lord  Chatham  was  known  to  have  the  strongest 
prejudices  against  those   German   territories  ;   and   he   frequently 
expressed  himself  in  the  House  of  Commons  in  terms  that  gave 
great  ofFence  to  his  Majesty ;  for  he  often  said,  that  Hanover  was 
a  millstone  about  the  neck  of  England  that  would  weigh  her  down 
and  sink  her.     However,  the  King  found  it  necessary  to  send  for 
him  ;  he  went  into  the  closet,  and  the  meeting  was  very  awkward 
at  first ;  at  length  Lord  Chatham  said  to  his  Majesty,  with  the 
greatest  frankness,  "  Sire,  give  me  your  confidence,  and  I'll  deserve 
it."     The   King   replied,  without   hesitation,  "  Deserve  my  con- 
fidence, and  you   shall  have    it."     Lord   Chatham   set  about  the 
great  work,  which  he  afterwards  so  gloriously  achieved,  by  raising 
this  country  to  the  highest  pinnacle  of  glory  ;  and  he  at  last  so 
won  upon  the  King,  that  he  was  able  to  turn  his  very  partialities 
in  favour  of  Germany  to  the  benefit  of  this  country  ;  and  never 
was  man  honoured  with  a  greater  share  of  royal   confidence  than 
he  was.     The  right  hon.  gentleman  over  against  him  might  obtain 
the  confidence  of  the  present  sovereign,  if,  by  his  great  abilities,  he 
should  be  able  to  serve  his  country.     To  gain  the  royal  confidence 


94  MEMOIR    OF   EARL   NUGENT 

was  not  so  difficult  a  matter  in  the  present  reign  as  in  the  former  ; 
there  was  no  dispute  in  the  Royal  Family,  which  might  split  the 
courts  j  no  partiality  to   German   dominions  ;  he  was   confident, 
therefore,  that  a  successful   exertion  of  abilities  would  secure  the 
right    hon.    gentleman    the    unshaken    enjoyment    of    the    royal 
confidence.     The  attempt  to  turn  out   the  present  Ministry  by 
force  was  not  the  way  to  conciliate  ;  and  to  do  it  without  alleging 
any    crime    to    have    been    committed    by    him   was  contrary  to 
justice.       He  remembered  very   well   that  an  attempt  was  once 
made  to  remove  Sir  Robert  Walpole  by  an  address :  the  opposition 
was  strong ;  it  was  headed  by  Mr.  Pulteney,  a  man  of  the  greatest 
eloquence  ;  and  so  sure  was  he  of  carrying  his  motion,  that  a  list 
was  handed  about  of  an  arrangement  for  a  new  Administration  ; 
which   I  remember  very  well,  said  his  lordship,  because  I  myself 
was  to   come  in  at  the  end  of  it.     But  mark  the  consequence  ; 
a    plain    country   gentleman    rose,  who,   he    believed,  had    never 
opened  his  lips  in  the  House  before  ;  it  was  Mr.  Harley;  and  with 
a  single,  short,  and  simple  speech,  he  undid  all  that  Mr.  Pulteney 
had  been  doing,  in  one  of  the  longest  and  most  flowery  speeches 
that  had  ever  been  delivered  in  Parliament.    "  You  persecuted  my 
uncle  Lord   Oxford,"  said   he  ;  "  you   persecuted  my  father,  the 
auditor,  through  whose  hands  millions  had  passed ;  and  a  persecu- 
tion was  conjured  up  against  him,  because  it  was  found  that  his 
servant    had   once   taken   six    shillings:   for    these  acts  you    must 
naturally  suppose  me  to  be  your  enemy;  but  I  hate  you  too  much 
to  descend  to  imitate  your  example  ;  and  therefore  as  no  crime 
has    been    proved    against    you,  I   will   give  my   negative   to  the 
motion  for  turning  you  out,  because  I  will  never  consent  that  any 
man  should  be  punished  till  he  has  been  tried  and  found  guilty." 
This  speech  had  the  most  astonishing  effect ;  for,  greatly  as  Sir 
Robert  was  hated,  the   country  gentlemen   to   a  man  voted  with 
Mr.   Harley  against    the    motion,    and    thus    blasted    the   certain 
prospect  of  success  that  Mr.  Pulteney  and  his  friends  fancied  they 
saw  before  them.     Such  was  the  force  of  the   appeal  of  a  plain 
man  to  the  justice  of  the  House!     If  the  House  of  Commons 
could  negative  a  motion  for  the  removal  of  a  man  so  generally 
detested  as  Sir  Robert  Walpole  was,  merely  because  no  crime  was 
proved  against  him,  what  ought  to  be  the  fate  of  a   motion  for 
removing  the  right  hon.  gentleman  on  the  floor,  whose  character 
was  as   irreproachable  as  man  could  wish  ;  a    man  who  was   as 
generally    beloved    and    respected,    as    Sir    Robert    Walpole    was 
execrated  and  despised  ?     If  the  motion  for  removing  the  odious 
minister  was  negatived,  merely  because  no  crime  had  been  proved 
against  him,  surely  with  more  justice  and  propriety  ought  a  motion 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  95 

to  be  negatived,  which  was  made  for  the  removal  of  a  minister 
against  whom  a  crime  not  only  had  not  been  proved,  but  against 
whom  a  crime  had  not  been  so  much  as  alle2;ed. 

Lord  Nugent  spoke  two  or  three  times  afterwards:  once  against 
delays  in  the  same  debate,  once  against  a  Mutiny  Bill,  and  once 
asserting  the  right  of  the  Lords  to  alter  the  money  Bills,  but  they 
were  very  short,  and  this  seems  to  have  been  his  not  unworthy 
Swan  Song. 

Nugent  was  again  elected  for  St.  Mawe's  in  April  1784,  but 
on  June  19  accepted  the  Stewardship  of  the  Chiltern  Hundreds, 
and  retired  from  the  House  whose  Nestor  he  had  become,  standing 
in  that  respect  even  before  Wellbore  Ellis.  In  April  of  the  same 
vear  he  had  been  interested  in  the  famous  Westminster  election,  as 
we  find  in  the  following — 

Stanhope's  Pitt,  i.  209. 

Letter  from  Pitt  to  his  cousin,  James  Grenville,  who  in  1797 
became  Lord  Glastonbury. 

Downing  Street, 
Friday,  April  23,  1784. 
My  Dear  Sir, 

Admiral  Hood  tells  me  he  left  Lord  Nugent  at  Bath, 
disposed  to  come  to  town  if  a  vote  at  Westminster  should  be 
material.  I  think  from  the  state  of  the  poll  it  may  be  very  much 
so.     The  numbers  on  the  close  to-day  are — 

H.   6326.1  Wr.  5699.2  F.  5615.3 

And  Sir  Cecil  has  gained  four  on  Fox  to-day.  There  is  no 
doubt,  I  believe,  of  final  success  on  a  scrutiny,  if  we  are  driven 
to  it,  but  it  is  a  great  object  to  carry  the  return  for  both  in  the 
first  instance,  and  on  every  account  as  great  an  object  to  Fox  to 
prevent  it.  It  is  uncertain  how  long  the  poll  will  continue,  but 
pretty  clear  it  cannot  be  over  till  after  Monday.  If  you  will  have 
the  goodness  to  state  these  circumstances  to  Lord  Nugent,  and 
encourage  his  good  designs,  we  shall  be  very  much  obliged  to  you; 
and  still  more  should  neither  health  nor  particular  engagements 
detain  you,  if,  besides  prevailing  upon  him  you  could  give  your 
own  personal  assistance.  At  all  events,  I  hope  you  will  forgive 
mv  troubling  you,  and  allow  for  the  importunity  of  the  hardened 
electioneer. 

W.  Pitt. 
Nugent  died  in  1788. 

1   Admiral  Lord  Hood.  2  sir  Cecil  Wray.  '  C.  J.  Fox. 


POEMS 


H 


POEMS 

In  an  age  as  rich  and  fertile  in  the  productions  of  art  as  the 
Eighteenth  Century,  it  is  scarcely  to  be  wondered  at  that  his 
contemporaries  spoke  slightingly  of  Nugent's  talent  as  a  poet : 
and  yet  it  cannot  be  denied  that,  whether  deservedly  or  un- 
deservedly, he  certainly  gained  a  not  inconsiderable  amount  of 
reputation,  and  was  spoken  of  by  many  whose  opinions  were 
valuable  and  reliable  in  terms  of  the  highest  commendation.  His 
ode  to  Pulteney,  which  described  the  poet's  passage  from  the  creed 
of  Roman  Catholicism  to  a  purer  faith,  obtained  great  fame,  and 
was  considered  good  enough  to  be  quoted  by  Gibbon.  Horace 
Walpole  called  this  "  a  glorious  ode,"  though  Gray  declared  that 
"  Mr.  Nugent  sure  did  not  write  his  own  ode."  Indeed  Nugent 
was  suspected,  by  some,  of  paying  Mallet,  his  step-son's  tutor,  to 
write  it,  or  at  all  events  of  getting  his  advice  along  with  that  of 
Pulteney  himself  and  Lord  Chesterfield  with  regard  to  its  con- 
struction ;  but  there  is  little  reason  for  giving  credence  to  this 
theory,  so  many  of  his  poems  afford  evidence  of  power  and 
originality,  though  frequently  marred  by  that  coarse  and  licentious 
wit  from  which  his  talents  were  never  wholly  exempt.  One  of 
his  odes,  that  "  to  Clarissa,"  was  criticized  as  "  unworthy  of 
Dodsley's  collection,"  and  many  others  it  has  been  thought 
advisable  to  eliminate  from  this  volume.  Some  excuse,  however, 
may  be  made  when  we  consider  that  the  majority  of  his  poems 
were  written  at  as  early  an  age  as  thirty-three  or  thirty-four  ; 
and,  indeed,  this  fact  should  have  increased  the  general  opinion 
as  to  his  ability,  that  a  man  at  so  comparatively  early  an  age 
should  have  succeeded  in  building  up  a  reputation,  which  caused 
Almon  to  write  of  him  "that  his  poems  breathed  the  true 
Horatian  fire."  Whatever  his  talent  may  have  been,  he  was 
clearly  esteemed  at  the  time  worthy  to  be  placed  side  by  side  with 
men  whose  reputations  still  live  with  us,  and  whose  works  are  as 
popular  and  as  widely  read  as  at  the  time  at  which  they  were 
written  :  and  so  it  is  that  Arthur  Murphy,  the  Editor  of  the 
Gray's  Inn  Journal^  picked  out  Nugent  as  a  "  Patron  of  the  man 
of  Genius,  wit  and  humour"  to  address  his  dedicatory  letter  to  in 
the  following  words — 

99 


100  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Sir, 

I  have  not  taken  up  the  Pen  to  trouble  you  with  an 
address  in  the  usual  stile  of  Dedicators  ;  to  a  warm  and  lively- 
Imagination,  such  as  Mr.  Nugent's,  Novelty  will  appear  an 
essential  Grace  in  Composition  ;  and  what  Kind  or  Novelty  can, 
at  this  Time  of  Day,  be  introduced  in  a  Form  of  Writing  which 
has  been  indiscriminately  hackneyed  by  the  Witty,  the  Venal, 
and  the  Dull  for  several  Centuries  ?  I  shall  therefore  have  no 
recource  to  exhausted  Topics,  nor  shall  I  endeavour  to  cull  from 
the  Stores  of  common  Place  a  Second-hand  Garland,  which  would 
not  fail  to  be  offensive  to  your  Delicacy,  however  your  Politeness 
might  induce  you  to  excuse  the  Aukwardness  of  the  Attempt.  I 
shall  leave  it.  Sir,  to  the  City  of  Bristol,  to  speak  aloud  of  your 
eminent  Abilities,  and  to  the  Annals  of  Parliament,  to  display  the 
brilliant  Share  you  have  had  in  all  the  public  Debates,  without 
adding  the  Efforts  of  my  feeble  Voice  to  echo  back  your  Fame 
in  Dedicatory  Panegyric  ;  though  I  persuade  myself,  were  I  to 
trouble  you  with  it,  one  Degree  of  Novelty  might  be  allowed 
me,  I  mean  Sincerity ;  which  I  take  to  be  a  Quality  totally 
unknown  to  the  Offerers  of  Incense. 

But  it  is  not  the  able  Statesman  I  am  at  present  to  address ;  it 
is  the  Patronage  of  the  Man  of  Genius,  Wit  and  Humour  my 
Ambition  has  prompted  me  to  solicit,  and,  I  believe,  every  one 
will  agree  with  me  that  I  could  not  any  where  chuse  a  Name 
more  justly  distinguished  for  those  splendid  Embellishments,  than 
that  of  Mr.  Nugent. 

I  am  not  insensible,  that,  in  doing  this,  I  may  fall  under  the 
Censure  of  the  witty  Doctor  Yvwig  when  he  says. 

As  Pedlars  with  some  Hero's  Head  make  hold. 
Illustrious  Mark  ! where  Pins  were  to  be  sold. 

The  Truth  is,  I  am  afraid,  the  fugitive  Pieces  contained  in 
these  little  Volumes  will  hardly  be  found  worthy  of  your 
Attention  ;  but  if  they  are  admitted  to  lie  in  any  Corner  of  your 
Study,  I  shall  congratulate  with  myself  that  they  have  found  so 
honourable  a  shelter,  and  I  shall  be  ever  proud  of  having  seized 
this  opportunity  of  subscribing  myself. 

Sir, 

Youj'  most  Obedient y 
Ajid  most  Devoted, 
Humble  Servant 

Arthur  Murphy. 
Tavistock-Row, 
April  S.  1756. 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT  loi 

Many  of  Nugent's  poems,  the  one  to  Pulteney  amongst  them, 
appear  in  the  second  volume  of  Dodsley's  Collection  :  others  in 
"  the  New  Foundling  Hospital  for  Wit,"  a  catalogue  of  which  is 
given  in  Walpole's  "Royal  and  Noble  authors."  In  1739  two 
editions  appeared  containing  reprints  of  his  "  odes  and  Epistles," 
most  of  which  lauded  the  talents  and  aims  of  the  '  patriots '  in 
opposition  to  Sir  Robert  Walpole.  In  1774  he  wrote  an 
anonymous  poem  entitled  "  Faith,"  being  an  attempt  to  depose 
the  Epicurean  doctrine  for  that  of  the  Trinity.  In  1775  he 
presented  the  Queen  with  a  new  year's  gift  of  some  "  Irish 
Stuff"  manufactured  in  his  native  land,  along  with  a  set  of  loyal 
verses,  which  were  followed  by  two  anonymous  parodies,  and  drew 
from  the  wits  the  jest  that  the  "  Queen  had  thanked  him  for  both 
his  pieces  of  stuff."  An  Epistle  to  Robert  Nugent,  with  a 
picture  of  Doctor  Swift  by  William  Dunkin,  D.D.,  is  reproduced 
in  Swift's  works,  but  his  name  is  more  intimately  associated  with 
the  poet  Goldsmith,  who  addressed  to  him  in  return  for  a  present 
of  Venison  from  Gosfield  Park,  the  charming  poetical  Epistle 
entitled  "  The  Haunch  of  Venison." 


ODE. 

TO    FREDERICK,    PRINCE  OF  WALES'S  BIRTH-DAY 

WRITTEN  IN  THE  YEAR  1739. 
By  EARL  NUGENT. 

I. 

Fitly  to  hail  this  happy  day, 
Freedom  demands  a  festal  lay, 

And  wakes  the  silent  string; 
The  gen'rous  Muse,  untaught  to  fear. 
Inspires  what   Britain's  Prince  should  hear. 

And  Britain's  bards  should  sing. 

II. 

Accurs'd  the  wretches  ever  be. 
And  foes  to  sacred  Liberty, 

Who  impious  dare   presume 
To  sooth  his  ear  with  such  a  strain, 
As  better  fits  the  cringing  train. 

The  slaves  of  France  or  Rome. 

III. 

Far  other  speaks  the  voice  of  truth, 
O  !   may  it  warn  thee.  Royal  Youth  ! 

To  fly  base  flattery's  lore. 
The  syren  sings;  who  listen,  die; 
Behold  yon  wreck  with  cautious  eye  ! 

Nor  trust  the  faithless  shore  ! 

IV. 

And  when  beneath  thy  counsel'd  reign, 
Britain  shall  plow  the  subject  main, 
Compleat  Heaven's  great  design  ! 

102 


POEMS  103 

Restrain  thy  powers  with  binding  laws  !        -^Uw.*Jti^  /»vi 
And  grateful  own  the  glorious  cause, 
That  rais'd  thy  scepter'd  line  ! 

V. 

So  shalt  thou  earn  unequal  fame, 
From  blessings  deathless  as  thy  name, 

By  latest  time  enjoy'd  ; 
Whilst  gifts  from  arbitrary  sway. 
Shine  the  vain  pageants  of  a  day. 

Neglected  and  destroy'd. 

VI. 

Thy  throne  shall  thus  unshaken  stand ; 
Its  ample  base,  a  prosperous  land; 

Thy  strength,  a  nation's  might; 
And  thus  thy  future  race  shall  be 
Safe  in  a  bless'd  necessity, 

Guided  and  rul'd  by  right. 

VII. 

Let  priests  an  hallow'd  bondage  preach  ! 
Let  school  men  earth-born  godhead  teach  ! 

Let  loyal  madmen  rave  ! 
Wise  nature  feels,  she  mocks  their  rules; 
And  laws  oppress'd,  from  difF'rent  schools. 

Unite  the  free  and  brave. 

VIII. 

So  form'd,  now  shines  the  patriot  band. 
The  guardians  of  a  threaten'd  land. 

Of  Britain  and  her  crown. 
May  such  adorn  each  future  age. 
Equal  to  stem  wild  faction's  rage. 

Or  pull  a  tyrant  down  ! 

IX. 

Genius  of  Freedom,  and  of  Peace  ! 
Bid  rapine  and  contention  cease  ! 

Protect  what  you  bestow'd  ! 
Well  may  a  burden'd  realm  complain, 
If,  rescued  from  the  galling  chain. 

She  sinks  beneath  her  load. 


104  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 


AN  ODE  TO   MANKIND. 

Address'd  to  the  prince 
By  the  Same. 

LNTRODUCTION  TO  the  PRINCE. 

Nor  me  the  glories  of  thy  birth  engage, 
With  royal  names  to  swell  my  pompous  page: 
Nor  meaner  views  allure,  in  soothing  lays 
To  court    thy  favour  with  officious  praise. 
Yet  praise  it  is,  thus  to  address  thine  ear 
In  strains  no  slave  dare  sing,  no  tyrant  hear; 
While  warm  for  Britain's   rights  and  nature's  laws, 
I  call  forth  Britain's  hope  in  freedom's  cause: 
Assert  an  empire  which  to  all  belongs. 
And  vindicate  a  world's  long  suffer'd  wrongs. 

These  saving  truths  import  thee  most  to  know, 
The  links  that  tie  the  mighty  to  the  low; 
What  now,  our  fellow-subject,  is  your  due. 
And,  when  our  lord,  shall  be  a  debt  on  you. 
O  !   may'st  thou  to  the  throne  such  maxims  bring  ; 
And  feel  the  free-man  while  thou  reign'st  the  king. 
Far  hence  the  tribe,  whose  servile  arts  delude. 
And  teach  the  great  to  spurn  the  multitude. 
Are  those  unworthy  of  the  royal  heir. 
Who  claim  the  future  monarch's  duteous  care  ? 
Still  may  thy  thoughts  the  godlike  task  pursue. 
And  to  the  many  ne'er  prefer  the  few  ! 
Still  mayst  thou  fly  thy  fortune's  specious  friends. 
Who  deal  forth  sov'reign  grace  to  private  ends; 
In  narrow  streams  divert  the  copious  tide. 
Exalt  one  sect  and  damn  the  world  beside  : 
While  with  false  lights  directing  partial  rule. 
The  lord  of  nations  falls  a  party's  tool. 
Such  there  have  been — and  such,  in  truth's  despite, 
Disgrace'd  the  cause  of  liberty  and  right. 
But  thou  shalt  rise  superior  to  their  arts. 
And  fix  thy   empire  in  a  people's  hearts. 


POEMS  105 

Nor  hence  may  faction  boast  her  favour'd  claim, 
Where  selfish  passions  borrow  virtue's  name: 
Free  government  alone  preserves  the  free, 
And  righteous  rule  is  gen'ral  liberty; 
Their  guiding  law  is  freedom's  native  voice. 
The  public  good  defin'd  by  public    choice; 
And  justly  should  the  bold  offenders  fall. 
Who  dare  invade  the  sov'reign  rights  of  all; 
A  king  who  proudly  makes  these  claims  his  own, 
Or  they  whose  rage  would  shake  a  lawful  throne. 
From  truths  like  these  proceeds  a  right  divine, 
And  may  the  pow'r  that  rais'd,  preserve  thy  scepter'd  line. 


TO    MANKIND:   AN   ODE. 


I. 


Is  there,  or  do  the  schoolmen  dream  ? 
Is  there  on  earth  a  pow'r  supreme. 

The  delegate  of  heav'n, 
To  whom  an  uncontroul'd  command, 
In  every  realm  o'er  sea  and  land. 

By  special  grace  is  giv'n  i* 


II. 

Then  say,  what  signs  this  god  proclaim  ? 
Dwells  he  amidst  the  diamond's  flame, 

A  throne  his  hallow'd  shrine  ? 
The  borrow'd  pomp,  the  arm'd  array. 
Want,  fear,  and  impotence  betray  : 

Strange  proofs  of  pow'r  divine  ! 

III. 

If  service  due  from  human  kind. 
To  men  in  slothful  ease  reclin'd, 

Can  form  a  sov'reign's  claim  : 
Hail  monarchs  !   ye,  whom  heav'n  ordains. 
Our  toils  unshar'd,  to  share  our  gains. 

Ye  ideots,  blind  and  lame  ! 


io6  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 


IV. 

Superior  virtue,  wisdom,  might, 
Create  and  mark  the  ruler's  right, 

So  reason  must  conclude  : 
Then  thine  it  is,  to  whom  belong 
The  wise,  the  virtuous,  and  the  strong, 

Thrice  sacred  multitude  ! 


V. 

In  thee,  vast  ALL  !  are  these  contain'd. 
For  thee  are  those,  thy  parts  ordain'd. 

So  nature's  systems  roll : 
The  scepter's  thine  if  such  there  be ; 
If  none  there  is,  then  thou  art  free. 

Great  monarch  !   mighty  whole  ! 

VI. 

Let  the  proud  tyrant  rest  his  cause 
On  faith,  prescription,  force  or  laws, 

An  host's  or  senate's  voice  ! 
His  voice  affirms  thy  stronger  due. 
Who  for  the  many  made  the  few. 

And  gave  the  species  choice. 

VII. 

Unsanctify'd  by  thy  command, 
Unown'd  by  thee,  the  scepter'd  hand 

The  trembling  slave  may  bind. 
But  loose  from  nature's  moral  ties. 
The  oath  by  force  impos'd  belies 

The  unassenting  mind. 

VIII. 

Thy  will's  thy  rule,  thy  good  its  end  ; 
You  punish  only  to  defend 

What  parent  nature  gave  : 
And  he  who  dares  her  gifts  invade. 
By  nature's  oldest  law  is  made 

Thy  victim  or  thy  slave. 


POEMS  107 


IX. 


Thus  reason  founds  the  just  decree 
On  universal  liberty, 

Not  private  rights  resign'd  : 
Through  various  nature's  wide  extent, 
No  private  beings  e'er  were  meant 

To  hurt  the  gen'ral  kind. 


X. 


Thee  justice  guides,  thee  right  maintains, 
Th'  oppressor's  wrongs,  the  pilr'rer's  gains, 

Thy  injur'd  weal  impair. 
Thy  warmest  passions  soon  subside. 
Nor  partial  envy,  hate,  nor  pride, 

Thy  temper'd  counsels  share. 


XI. 

Each  instance  of  thy  vengeful  rage. 
Collected  from  each  clime  and  age. 

Though  malice  swell  the  sum. 
Would  seem  a  spotless  scanty  scroll, 
Compar'd  with  Marius'  bloody  roll. 

Or  Sylla's  hippodrome. 

XII. 

But  thine  has  been  imputed  blame, 
Th'  unworthy  few  assume  thy  name, 

The  rabble  weak  and  loud  ; 
Or  those  who  on  thy  ruins  feast, 
The  lord,  the  lawyer  and  the  priest ; 

A  more  ignoble  crowd. 

.XIII. 

Avails  it  thee,  if  one  devours. 

Or   lesser  spoilers  share  his  pow'rs, 

While  both  thy  claim  oppose  ? 
Monsters  who  wore  thy  sully'd  crown. 
Tyrants  who  pull'd  those  monsters  down, 

Alike  to  thee  were  foes. 


io8  MEMOIR  OF   EARL   NUGENT 

XIV. 

Far  other  shone  fair  Freedom's  hand, 
Far  other  was  th'  immortal  stand, 

When  Hampden  fought  for  thee  : 
They  snatch'd  from  rapine's  gripe  thy  spoils, 
The  fruits  and  prize  of  glorious  toils, 

Of  arts  and  industry. 

XV. 

On  thee  yet  foams  the  preacher's  rage. 
On  thee  fierce  frowns  th'  historian's  page 

A  false  apostate  train  : 
Tears  stream  adown  the  martyr's  tomb  ; 
Unpity'd  in  their  harder  doom. 

Thy  thousands  strow  the  plain. 

XVI. 

These  had  no  charms  to  please  the  sense. 
No  graceful  port,  no  eloquence. 

To  win  the  Muse's  throng  : 
Unknown,  unsung,  unmark'd  they  lie  ; 
But  Caesar's  fate  o'ercasts  the  sky. 

And  Nature  mourns  his  wrong. 

XVII. 

Thy  foes,  a  frontless  band,  invade  ; 
Thy  friends  afford  a  timid  aid, 

And  yield  up  half  thy  right. 
Ev'n  Locke  beams  forth  a  mingled  ray, 
Afraid  to  pour  the  flood  of  day 

On  man's  too  feeble  sight. 

XVIII. 

Hence  are  the  motley  systems  fram'd. 
Of  right  transfer'd,  of  pow'r  reclaim'd  ; 

Distinctions  weak  and  vain. 
Wise  nature  mocks  th'  wrangling  herd  ; 
For  unreclaim'd,  and  untransfer'd, 

Her  pow'rs  and  rights  remain. 


POEMS  109 


XIX. 


While  law  the  royal  agent  moves, 
The  instrument  thy  choice  approves, 

We  bow  through  him  to  you. 
But  change,  or  cease  th'  inspiring  choice. 
The  sov'reign  sinks  a  private  voice, 


Alike  in  one,  or  few  ! 


XX. 


Shall  then  the  wretch,  whose  dastard  heart 
Shrinks  at  a  tyrant's  nobler  part. 

And  only  dares  betray  ; 
With  reptile  wiles,  alas  !    prevail. 
Where  force,  and  rage,  and  priest-craft  fail. 

To  pilfer  pow'r  away  ? 

XXI. 

O  !    shall  the  bought,  and  buying  tribe. 
The  slaves  who  take,  and  deal  the  bribe, 

A  people's  claims  enjoy  ! 
So   Indian  murd'rers  hope  to  gain 
The  pow'rs  and  virtues  of  the  slain, 

Of  wretches  they  destroy. 

XXII. 

"  Avert  it,  heav'n  !    you  love  the  brave, 
"  You  hate  the  treach'rous,  willing  slave, 

"  The  self-devoted  head. 
"  Nor  shall  an  hireling's  voice  convey 
"  That  sacred  prize  to  lawless  sway, 

"  For  which  a  nation  bled." 

XXIII. 

Vain  pray'r,  the  coward's  weak  resource  ! 
Directing  reason,  active  force. 

Propitious  heaven  bestows. 
But  ne'er  shall  flame  the  thund'ring  sky. 
To  aid  the  trembling  herd  that  fly 

Before  their  weaker  foes. 


no  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 


XXIV. 

In  names  there  dwell  no  magic  charms, 
The  British  virtues,   British  arms 

Unloos'd  our  fathers'  band  : 
Say,  Greece  and  Rome !    if  these  should  fail, 
What  names,  w^hat  ancestors  avail. 

To  save  a  sinking  land  ? 

XXV. 

Far,  far  from  us  such  ills  shall  be. 
Mankind  shall  boast  one  nation  free. 

One  monarch  truly  great  : 
Whose  title  speaks  a  people's  choice. 
Whose  sovereign  will  a  people's  voice. 

Whose  strength  a  prosp'rous  state. 


AN    ODE   TO   WILLIAM    PULTENEY,    Esq. 

By  the   same. 


I. 

Remote  from  liberty  and  truth, 
By  fortune's  crime,  my  early  youth 

Drank  error's  poison'd  springs. 
Taught  by  dark  creeds  and  mystic  law, 
Wrapt  up  in  reverential  awe, 

I  bow'd  to  priests  and  kings. 

II. 

Soon  reason  dawn'd,  with  troubled  fight 
I  caught  the  glimpse  of  painful  light. 

Afflicted  and  afraid. 
Too  weak  it  shone  to  mark  my  way. 
Enough  to  tempt  my  steps  to  stray 

Along  the  dubious  shade. 


POEMS  III 


III. 


Restless  I  roam'd,  when  from  afar 
Lo,  Hooker  shines  !    the  friendly  star 

Sends  forth  a  steady  ray. 
Thus  cheerM,  and  eager  to  pursue, 
I   mount,  'Till  glorious  to  my  view, 

Locke  spreads  the  realms  of  day. 

IV. 

Now  warmM  with  noble  Sidney's  page, 
I  pant  with  all  the  patriot's  rage  ; 

Now  wrapt  in  Plato's  dream, 
With  More  and  Harrington  around 
I  tread  fair  Freedom's  magic  ground, 

And  trace  the  flatt'ring  scheme. 

V. 

But  soon  the  beauteous  vision  flies  ; 
And  hideous  spectres  now  arise. 

Corruption's  direful  train  : 
The  partial  judge  perverting  laws. 
The  priest  forsaking  virtue's  cause. 

And  senates  slaves  to  gain. 

VI. 

Vainly  the  pious  artist's  toil 
Would  rear  to  heaven  a  mortal  pile. 

On  some  immortal  plan  ; 
Within  a  sure,  though  varying  date, 
Confin'd,  alas  !    is  every  state 

Of  empire  and  of  man. 

VII. 

What  though  the  good,  the  brave,  the  wise. 
With  adverse  force  undaunted  rise. 

To  break  th'  eternal  doom  ! 
Though  Cato  liv'd,  though  Tully  spoke, 
Though  Brutus  dealt  the  godlike  stroke. 

Yet  perish'd  fated  Rome. 


112  MEMOIR   OF  EARL   NUGENT 

VIII. 

To  swell  some  future  tyrant's  pride, 
Good  Fleury  pours  the  golden  tide 

On  Gallia's  smiling  shores  ; 
Once  more  her  fields  shall  thirst  in  vain 
For  wholsome  streams  of  honest  gain, 

While  rapine  wastes  her  stores. 

IX. 

Yet  glorious  is  the  great  design. 

And  such,  O  Pultney  !    such  is  thine 

To  prop  a  nation's  frame. 
If  crush'd  beneath  the  sacred  weight 
The  ruins  of  a  falling  state 

Shall  tell  the  patriot's  name. 


FAITH. 

A   POEM. 


TO   THE   PUBLISHER. 

The  following  Poem  at  lirst  consisted  of  a  very  few  Lines,  and  was 
only  part  of  another  in  which  Verses  of  Seven  Syllables  were  chosen 
as  best  adapted  to  its  general  subject.  What  is  now  sent  to  you, 
growing  almost  imperceptibly  into  its  present  length,  by  Ideas  crowding 
upon  the  Author's  mind,  from  an  inexhaustible  Fund  of  Matter, 
became  a  disproportionate  part  of  the  original  Design,  and  has  therefore 
been  separated  from  it.  The  Metre,  although  deficient  in  that 
solemnity  which  the  subject  demands,  remains  unalter'd ;  merely  from 
the  difficulty  of  improving  the  whole  by  adding  more  words  to  each 
Line.  Had  it  been  so  enlarged  in  its  first  formation,  it  would  have 
cost  the  Composer  less  labour  than  hath  been  bestowed  upon  it  in  its 
present  shape,  while  the  Composition  might  have,  been  rendered  less 
inelegant,  and  the  Sense  and  Argument  less  cramped  and  obscure  than 
they  must  appear  in  many  places. 

You  have  it  with  all  its  Imperfections ;  and  if  it  be  sufficiently  clear 
to  manifest  to  Christians  the  Author's  Faith,  sufficiently  conclusive  not 
to  weaken  in  the  opinions  of  others  the  Cause  which  he  would  support, 
and  just  sufficiently  poetical  not  to  tire  the  Readers  of  either  Denomina- 
tion, he  wnll  not  repent  of  having  given  to  the  Public  his  Thoughts  in 
the  Decline  of  Life,  closing  the  scene  with  an  Endeavour  to  draw  their 
attention  to  an  Object  which  ought  to  be  the  principal  Study  of  Man, 
as  it  is  his  infinitely  most  important  Concern,  through  every  stage  of 
Existence. 

Happy  indeed  would  the  Author  be,  if  this  Attempt  should  con- 
tribute to  excite  the  Exertion  of  superior  Talents  in  the  Defence  of 
Him  from  whom  they  are  derived,  and  in  vindicating  Truths  which 
can  never  sufter  by  Discussion,  and  which  have  been  injured  only  when 
the  Field  hath  been  abandoned  to  unopposed  Assailants.  The  Attack 
is  become  too  general  in  many  parts  of  the  Christian  World  ;  the 
Defence  should  be  unanimous  by  all  who  are  ranged  under  the  Banner 
of  a  Man-God,  however  they  may  ditfer  in  other  points,  whether  of 
Doctrine  or  of  Discipline  :  This  will  be  no  more  than  a  just  Compensa- 
tion for  the  Prejudices  drawn  upon  their  Common  Faith  by  that 
intolerant  Rancour  with  which  different  Sects  have  persecuted  each 
other.  Of  those  Prejudices  Infidelity  hath  not  tailed  to  take  every 
unfair  Advantage,  and  would  conclude  against  the  Law  of  Dis- 
interestedness, Forgiveness  and  universal  Benevolence,  because  cruel 
and  interested  Men  have  acted  in  direct  Opposition  to  its  Spirit  and 
Commands. 


ii6  MEMOIR   OF    EARL   NUGENT 


ARGUMENT. 

God  from  the  simple   Law  of  Nature  produces   infinite  Variety. 
The  Exertion  of  Power  equal  in  the  Production  of  the  smallest  and 
greatest  Beings  in  the  various  Classes  of  Creation.     The  most  minute 
Alteration  in  the  System  of  the  Universe  would  subvert  the  whole  j 
from   Line  i  to  i8.      All  Effects  foreseen  by  God  from  Eternity,  to 
Line  32.    Phenomena,  seemingly  irregular,  all  directed  by  certain  Rules, 
to  Line  43.  There  are  Evils  necessarily  arising  from  the  Nature  of  Things, 
in  the  physical  and  moral  Worlds.    These  are  compensated  by  superior 
Beneiits  with  which  they  are  connected,  to  Line  62.     The  virtuous 
happy  here  or  in  a  future  State.      Prayer  grateful  to  God,  to  Line  82. 
The    Law    of    Mercy   consistent   with   the    Law    of    Nature.     Both 
co-operate  in  attaining  the  Ends  proposed  by  God  from  all  Eternity, 
to  Line   106.     The  Will   of  God,  although   immutable,   is   free,  his 
Decrees  being  always  present,  to  120.     Man's  Choice  foreseen  but  not 
compell'd,  to   124.     Certain  differing  Opinions  equally  false,  to  132. 
Infidelity  and  Credulity  equally  erroneous.     Miracles  afford  no  Argu- 
ment in  favour  of  legendary  Tales,  to  152.     The  Will  of  God  is  the 
efficient    Cause    of   all  Things,  to    170.      Worlds    of   Spirit,  to    176. 
Influence  of  Soul  upon  Body  acting  by  an  Impulse  different  from  the 
Laws  of  Motion,  to  192.     The  known  Effects  of  such  Impulse  render 
credible   certain  Miracles   and   Mysteries   delivered   to   us    by  divine 
Authority,  to   216.     Absurdities    of  Materialism,  to   230.     Desire   of 
Fame  after  Death  a  Proof  of  future  Existence,  to  256.    The  Argument 
used  by  Epicureans  against  Providence  strengthened  by  the  Doctrine 
of    Materialism,    to    288.      Their    Argument    best    answered    by    the 
Doctrine  of  a  Trinity,  to  318.     Other  Circumstances  which  inforce 
the   Truth  of  that   Doctrine,  to  346.     Mahomet   and   Mahometism 
compared  with  Christ  and  Christianity,  to   0^66.     Before  Revelation, 
natural  Sense  led  Men  into  fewer  gross  Errors  respecting  a  Divinity, 
than  Learning  did  many  Philosophers,  to  374.     The  Worship  of  God 
in  his  Works,  or  in  Idols,  common  to  the  most  civilized  and  savage 
Nations,  proves  the  Idea  of  a  Supreme  Power  impressed  on  the  Mind 
of  Man,  while  the  religious  Tenets  of  both  were  equally  absurd,  to  408. 
Description  of  Fame,  to  426.     Her  Influence  upon  Cato,  Brutus  and 
Socrates,  to  468.    All  Virtues  enjoined  by  the  revealed  Will  of  God,  to 
478.     The  Influence  of  revealed  Rehgion  upon  the  Distresses  of  Man, 
to  502.     The  Religion  of  Nature,  moral  Instinct,  and  human  Laws 
not  sufficient  without  reveal'd  Rehgion,   to  562.     Reason  not  suffi- 
cient without  Faith,  to  614.     Deism  inconsistent  with  itself,  to  632. 
Address  to  the  Deity,  to  650.     Apostrophe  to  the  King,  to  690, 


FAITH:    A    P0E:\I. 


Ruling  Pow'r  !  eternal  Mind  ! 

Uncreated,  unconfin'd, 
Who,  from  Nature's  simple  Law, 
Dost  her  various  Myriads  draw  ; 
Thou  !   omnipotent  in  all. 
Equal  in  the  Great  and  Small, 
Where  thv  rising  Works  extend, 
Wide  as  Space  which  knows  no  End, 
From  the  Mote  which  unseen  plays, 
To  where  Suns  unnumber'd  blaze  ; 
With  the  all-prevading  Soul 
Poises,  moves,  connects  the  whole  : 
In  the  Chain  one  Link  derang'd. 
In  the  Work  one  Movement  chang'd. 
In  the  Scale  one  Atom  lost. 
World  would  sink  in  Chaos  tost. 
But  secure.  Thy  potent  Hand 

Executes  what  Prescience  plan'd,  i8 

What  was,  is,  or  e'er  shall  be 
Viewing  thro'   Eternity. 

Could  an  unforeseen  Event 
Scenes,  unknown  before,   present. 
Thou,  like  Man,  become  more  wise, 
Would'st  thro'  Time  in  Knowledge  rise, 
Rais'd,  at  ev'ry  future  Date, 
From  thv  still  imperfect  State. 
Yet,  in  each  advanc'd  Degree, 
III  th'   improving  Deity 
Would  support  th'  Omniscient's  Claim, 
From   Eternity  the  same  : 
111   Effects,  unthought  of,  tend 
To  insure  Creation's  End.  3^ 

ii7 


ii8  MEMOIR   OF   EARL    NUGENT 

Urg'd  by  one  unvarying  Force, 
Seasons  tread  their  wonted  Course  ; 
While  in  Nature's  stated  Turn, 
Winters  chill,  and  Summers  burn. 
Vagrant  Winds,  the  Compass  round 
Shift,  and  seem  by  Rules  unbound  ; 
Yet  Thou  guidest  their  Career, 
Sure  as  rolls  the  circlins:  Year  : 
Nor  in  wide  Creation's  Range, 
Blindfold  Chance  or  fickle  Change 
Ever  enter'd  :   fertile  Lands  43 

Thirst  for  Show'rs  that  glut  the  Sands  ; 
Nor  may  starving  Virtue  taste 
What  the  lavish  Vices  waste. 
All  foreknown,  no  partial  111 
Frustrates  the  Creator's  Will. 

Ills  there  are,  in  vain  deny'd 
By  the  subtle  Stoick's  Pride  ; 
Such  as  Nature  must  produce. 
Purchasing  superior  Use  : 
Here  would  Suns  benignant  shine, 
They  must  scorch  beneath  the  Line  : 
Clouds  that  drop  the  kindly  Show'r, 
Must  the  wasting  Torrent  pour. 
Nor  to  Earth  alone  confin'd. 
Ills  disgrace  the  nobler   Mind, 
Rank  Desires,  foul  Passions  stain  : 
Should  resistless  Force  restrain, 
Soon  would  Brute-degraded  Man 
Humble  mourn  thy  alter'd  Plan.  62 

In  omniscient  Justice  sure. 
Virtue  rests  of  Bliss  secure  ; 
Large  the  Portion  here  assign'd 
To  the  conscious,  spotless  Mind, 
While  unmerited  Distress 
Points  to  future  Happiness  : 
One,  thus  blameless  doom'd  to  fall, 
Proves  Futurity  to  all. 
Other  Proofs,  alas  !   arise  : 
Prosp'rous  Guilt  those  Proofs  supplies. 

Tho'  awhile  in  Nature's  Scale 
Virtues  sink  and   Crimes  prevail, 


POEMS  119 

Yet  not  lost  in  empty  Air 

Vainly  floats  the  suppliant  Pray'r  : 

Grateful  shall  the  Incense  rise, 

Waftina:  Fragrance  to  the  Skies  : 

And  eternal  Bliss  repay 

The  short  sufFrin2:s  of  a  Dav. 

Let  not  Villains  boast  their  Gains, 

While  unclos'd  th'  Account  remains  !  82 

But  would'st  Thou,  in  Mercy  shown, 
Deisn  the  righteous  Cause  to  own  : 
Or  from  Guilt's  repentant  Eye 
Wipe  all  other  Sorrows  dry. 
Nature's  Laws  can  never  force 
Mercv  from  her  destin'd  Course  ; 
Both  are  thine — to  stir  the  Wave, 
Still,  or  turn  its  Rage,  and  save 
Wretches,  who  thy  Hand  adore 
Sliehted  or  unknown  before. 

Thus  the  Kindred-Systems  rang'd 
Mutual  act,  their  Laws  unchang'd  ; 
Tho'  deep-veil'd  thy  form'd   Design 
Dwells  in  Mvstery  divine  ; 
Nor  can  bounded  Reason   find 
How  their  various  Pow'rs  combin'd, 
All  directed  to  one  End, 
Can  alternate  Succour  lend, 
While  according  Parts  agree 
In  Caelestial   Harmony. 
Howe'er  varv'd  each  Event, 
All  conform  to  thy  Intent, 
To  whate'er  thy  ruling  Pow'r 
Will'd  before  th'  appointed   Hour.  106 

Man  thro'  Life's  inconstant  Range, 
Proves  his  Liberty  by  Change  ; 
But  that  cogent  Proof  betrays 
Error's  inconsistent  Maze. 
While  th'  Almi^htv   Hand  fulfills 
All  that  Sovereign  Wisdom  wills  ; 
While  no  Power's  controuling  Voice, 
Thwarts  his  self-directing  Choice  ; 
Tho'  unalter'd  still  remains 
What  th'  unerring  Mind  ordains, 


120  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Wise  Omnipotence  is  free 

In  th'  immutable  Decree, 

Ever  present,  never  past. 

Never  future,  first,  or  last.  12a 

In  whatever  thou  hast  ordain'd, 
Man  ne'er  sins  by  Force  constrain'd  ! 
Free  his  Choice,  tho'  Heav'n  foresee 
What  that  fatal  Choice  will  be;  124 

His,  who  wrapt  in   Horror's  Gloom, 
Reads  th'  inevitable  Doom  ; 
Or  who  views  a  Seraph's  Throne, 
Bv  predestin'd  Lot  his  own  ; 
Or  who  mocks  a  saving  God, 
Spurns  his  Clemency  and  Rod  : 
Impious  they,  whose  Creeds  profane 
Hold  the  Works  of  Virtue  vain.  132 

Error's  wild  Extremes  are  such. 
When  too  little  or  too  much 
Men  believe,  alike  they  stray  : — 
Scepticks  in  the   Noon  of  Day, 
While  Credulitv's  weak  Eyes 
See  the  Midnight  Sceptre  rise. 
Nor  doth  Miracle  avail 
The  low  Bigot's  idle  Tale, 
How  by  Supplication  prest 
Thou  hast  chang'd  thy  high  Behest ; 
Turn'd  the   Bolt  thy  Wrath  prepares, 
From  the  Head  thy  Pity  spares  ; 
Passions  varying  each   Design, 
As  strong  Love  or   Hate  incline  : 
Vengeance,  Mercv  but  fulfil 
Thy  unalter'd  ceaceless  Will, 
Both  united  in  one  Plan, 
Form'd  ere  Worlds  or  Time  began  ; 
While  Presumption  baffled  strays 
In  th'  inexplicable  Maze.  152. 

Could  sublimer  Reason  scan 
Matter  thro'  its  endless  Plan, 
From  this  humble  Planet  rise 
Far  as  stretch  the  spangled  Skies, 
Piercing  thro'  all   Nature's  Laws, 
Towards  the  efficient  Cause  : 


POEMS  121 

Past  thy  Will  should  Knowledse  strain, 

Newton's  Lights  would  Blaze  in  vain  : 

Whence  on  Matter,  doom'd  to  rest 

'Till  by  moving  Matter  prest, 

Does  th'  imparted  Impulse  act  ? 

Whence  does  central  Force  attract  ? 

Whence  in  a  projectile  Line 

Bodies  would  that  Force  decline  ? 

While  th'  opposing  Pow'r  compounds 

Orbs  and  all  their  destin'd  Rounds  ; 

These  deep-search'd  by  human  Skill,  , 

Own  no  Cause  beside  thv  Will.  lyo- 

All  obedient  to  thv  Reien 
Works  more  wond'rous  still  remain. 
Where,  unknown  to  human  Sight, 
Spreads  th'   expanded   Infinite ; 
While  thy  ruling  Law  controlls 
The  vast  Universe  of  Souls.  176 

Hence  that  Spark   (whose  glimm'ring  Ray 
Animates  our  senseless  Clav, 
Knowing  all  to  Mankind  known. 
Stranger  to  itself  alone;) 
Bids  the  Face  of  Pleasure  glow, 
Sickens  the  pale  Cheek  of  Woe, 
Fires  the  Weak  with  Valour's  Flame, 
Numbs  with  Fear  the   Giant's  Frame, 
Gives  our  Limbs  to  move  or  rest, 
By  no  outward  Force  imprest ; 
Bids  voung  Vigour,   bounding  high. 
All  Attraction's  Pow'r  defy, 
And,  in  Frolick's  varying  Round, 
Motion's  stated  Laws  confound  ; 
Rules  the  Man — unconscious  whence 
Flows  its  pow'rful   Influence.  192 

Since  thus  destin'd  to  obev, 
Body  owns  superior  Swav  ; 
To  the  ruling  Spirit  chain'd. 
Union  felt  but  ne'er  explain'd  ; 
Well  might  thy  o'er-ruling  Force 
Stop  the  Sun's  declining  Course, 
Bid  a  chosen  People  pass 
Thro'  the  Sea's  di\'ided  Mass  : 


-) 


122  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Starting  forth  at  thy  Command 

Well  might  Wonders  prove  thy  Hand, 

When  the  Crowd  thy  Truths  receiv'd, 

Saw,  and  what  they  saw  believ'd. 

Yet  Impiety  denies 

Miracle  and  Mysteries ; 

Mocks  the  Pow'r  which   from  his  Bed 

Rais'd  to  Life  the  wond'ring  Dead, 

Scoffs  at  those  who  dare  proclaim 

A  Man-God  in  human  Frame, 

Join'd  in  Union  undefin'd 

To  our  now  ennobled  Kind  ! 

In  thy  Word  those  Truths  we  trace, 

Treasur'd  for  the  Human   Race  ; 

Unimpair'd  the  Proofs  shall  last, 

Thro'  the  future,  as  the  past.  2i6 

If,  as  impious  Teachers  say. 
Souls  are  animated  Clay  ; 
If,  by  chemick  Pow'r  refin'd. 
Matter,  high-sublim'd  to  Mind, 
Rich  with  Wisdom,  Foresight,  Skill, 
Chuses,  thinks,  and  moves  at  will  -, 
A  new  Essence  thus  supply'd. 
To  the  native  Mass  deny'd. 
Total  Chano;e — such  alter'd  State 
Who  produces,  must  create  : 
In  the  wond'rous  Work  imprest 
The  Creator  shines  confest  ; 
Still  the  Soul  retains  her  Claim, 
Pure  and  animated  Flame.  230 

Lo  !    the  Wretch  who  abject  thinks 
Man  to  Brute  degraded  sinks. 
And  in  mould'ring  Earth's  decay 
Quenches  the  immortal  Ray, 
Courting  visionary  Fame 
Pants  to  eternize  his  Name  ; 
When  no  more  th'  unconscious  Ear 
Can  th'  applauding  Paean  hear. 
When  no  more  th'  extinguish'd  Eye 
Sees  the  Column  brave  the  Skv, 
Sacred  to  a  Name  alone. 
All  that  liv'd  of  Man  unknown. 


POEMS  123 

Heaven's  exhaustless  Bounty  grants 

Fit  Supplies  for  all  our  Wants, 

Whether  feedins:  grosser  Fires, 

Or  the  Soul's  sublime  Desires ; 

Ev'ry  Longing  of  the  Mind, 

Marks  an   Object  thus  assign'd. 

In  the  wide-extended  Scope 

Of  Enjoyment,  Wish,  or   Hope, 

'Tho'  mistaken  Man's  Embrace 

Catch  at  Shadows  in  his  Chace  : 

He  who  thirsts  to  live  in  Praise, 

Thro'  a  Line  of  endless  Days, 

Proves  a  deathless  Prize  prepar'd 

By  our  mortal  Sense  unshar'd.  256 

If  the  2;reat  Creator's  Plan 
Close  with   Life's  contracted  Span, 
While  in  quick  successive  Birth 
Myriads  swarm  to  mix  the  Earth  ; 
If  to  no  sublimer  End 
Heav'nly  Strength  and  Thought  extend, 
Why  was  favour'd  Man  begot. 
Rising;  but  to  breathe  and  rot  ? 
Why  employ'd  almighty  Pow'r 
On  the  Creature  of  an   Hour  ? 
Epicurus  in  his  Sty 
Hence  would  Providence  deny, 
Deeming  Earth   unmeet  to  share 
A  Creator's  Guardian  Care. 

Yet  Almighty  Pow'r  he  own'd 
On  the  highest  Heav'n  enthron'd, 
Of  Infinitude  possest. 
In  himself  supremely  blest. 
Thus  he  reason'd. — '^  God  employ'd 
In  Perfections  self-enjoy'd. 
Feels  no  Motive  to  create. 
Rising  from  a  future  State  : 
What  can  finite  Works  present 
Worthy  the  Omnipotent  ? 
Can  Creation  to  his  Store 
Add  one  Gift,  not  his  before  ? 
Or  th'  Imperfect  yield  Delight 
To  the  Perfect  Infinite  ? 


124  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Atoms,  blindfold  in  their  Dance, 

Jumble  into  Worlds  by  Chance, 

While  remote  the  God-head  reigns, 

Heedless  of  our  Joys  and  Pains."  28^ 

Wilder'd  in  phantastick  Schemes, 
So  th'  unaided  Searcher  dreams  : 
Reason  with  advent'rous  Flight, 
Trying  Heav'n's  unequal  Height, 
Tir'd  and  dizzy,  from  the  Sky 
Drops  into  Absurdity. 

Faith  arise  !    assert  your  Claim  ! 
Open   Heav'n  from  whence  you  came  ! 
Vouch  th'  eternal  Three  who  shine 
One,  in  Attributes  divine  ! 
Say  !   how  the  Great  Father's  Mind 
Ere  Creation  was,  design'd 
His  lov'd  Son's  unspotted  Birth, 
Cloth'd  in   Flesh,  exalting  Earth  ; 
While  with  interchang'd  Delights, 
One  creates,  and   One  unites, 
Of  one  Object  each  possest, 
In  their  mutual  Blessings  blest. 
Say  !    how  all  was  sanctify'd, 
By  that  Spirit  breathing  wide, 
Who  erst  in  the  Prophet's  Flame, 
Did  those  mystick  Truths  proclaim  ; 
And,  athwart  thick  pagan  Night, 
Pour'd  on  Souls  resistless  Light. 
In  this  System  pre-ordain'd, 
God's  high  Motives  stand  explain'd  ; 
When  his  all-creatino;  Hand 
Gave  to  Man  Air,  Sea  and  Land, 
Made  for  him,  whose  kindred-Claim 
Boasts  his  Heav'n-united  Frame.  318 

Tenets  with  such  Wonders  fraught, 
Far  beyond  the  Reach  of  Thought, 
Link'd  with  Laws,  whose  rig'rous  Plan 
Checks  th'  aspiring  Pride  of  Man, 
Stints  the  darling  Joys  of  Sense, 
Lost  in  rigid  Abstinence, 
Points  to  Paths  with  Thorns  bespread. 
Far  remov'd  from  Pleasure's  Bed, 


POEMS  125 

Leading  to  a  distant  Prize, 

Past  the  Ken  of  human  Eyes, 

Reason's  Sovereign-Rule  deny'd, 

Senses,  Passions,  mortifv'd. 

In  a  plain  and  simple  Tale, 

111  constructed  to  prevail. 

With  no  Eloquence  to  dravi^, 

Nor  Authority  to  av^^e. 

Yet  by  Earth's  first  Pow'rs  receiv'd, 

And  by  Learning's  Lights  believ'd, 

Reconciling  what  before 

Mock'd  the  Sophist's  baffled  Lore, 

Yet  that  Purpose  undesign'd 

'Scap'd  the  rustick  Teachers'  Mind, 

Who,  the  subtle  Schools  unknown. 

Knew  no  Doctrines  but  their  own  ; 

Nor  in  Rolls  of  Grecian  Fame, 

Reads  an  Epicurus'  Name  : 

These  are  Stamps  by  Heav'n  imprest. 

Truth's  inimitable  Test.  346 

Such  were  they,  while  Guilt  and  Shame 
Brand  th'  impostor-Arab's  Claim  : 
Vengeance,  Rapine,  Murder,  Lust, 
111  denote  a  heav'nlv  Trust, 
Tho'  his  Followers'  Ruffian-Band 
Speak  the  Wonders  of  his  Hand, 
Boasting  in  their  martyr'd  Train 
Robbers  by  the  plunder'd  slain. 
Well  might  he  by  Force  impose 
Creeds  absurd  on  vanquish'd  Foes ; 
Well  seduce  a  sensual   Crowd, 
Vague  Concubinage  allow'd  ; 
While  his  Paradise  invites 
To  eternal  lewd  Delights. 
But  rank  Incest,  all  his  own,i 
Flames  a  Jewel  in  his  Throne. 

How  unlike  the  Man  divine  ! 
In  whose  Life's  fair  Mirror  shine 
All  the  Precepts  which  he  taught. 
Spotless  pure  in  Deed  and  Thought.  366 

Mahomet  forbad  Incest^  but  practised  it  himself. 


126  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Ere  the  Beam  of  saving  Light, 
Trac'd  the  certain  Path   to  Right, 
Man,  who  unseduc'd  by  Art 
Stifling  Nature  in  his  Heart, 
Safer  trusted  native  Sense 
Than  weak   Learning's  Insolence  ; 
Nor,   to  eternize  a  Clod, 
Labour'd  to  dethrone  his  God.  374_ 

Where  the  poor  untutor'd  Hind  ^ 
Awe-struck  hears  him  in   the  Wind, 
Sees  him  in  the  Light'ning  blaze. 
Feels  him  in  the  Solar  Rays, 
And  thro'  splendid  Nature's  Stores 
In  Effects   their  Cause  adores, 
Spreading  wide  as  Nations  spread, 
Admiration,   Love  and  Dread  ; 
Or  where  Superstition  owns 
Virtues  giv'n  to  Wood  and  Stones, 
Whether  Jove,  high-sculptur'd,  rise 
Awful  Sov'reign  of  the  Skies  ; 
Or  from  monster-teeming  Nile 
Spring  the  worship'd  Crocodile  ; 
Or  rough  hewn  with  barb'rous  Glare 
Some  tremendous  Idol  stare  ; 
All  evince  a  Pow'r  imprest 
Deep  in  Man's  instinctive  Breast, 
Wrapt  in  Error. — So  the  eye 
Traces  in  an  Ev'ning-sky 
Well-known  Forms  ;    yet  what  we  see 
Is  but  cloud-born   Imag'ry. 

Not  more  senseless  Tales  disgrace 
The  wild  Faith  of  India's  Race, 
Than,  obscur'd  in  heathen  Gloom, 
Sham'd  the  Lights  of  Greece  and   Rome, 
When  appall'd,  the  Brave  and  Wise 
View'd  Portents  and   Prodigies  : 
Did  a  Fowl  in  moping  Mood, 
Sick'ning  shun  its  slighted   Food  ; 
Did  a  Bull  ill-omen'd  die. 
Did  a  Bird  sinister  flv. 


1  a 


Lo  !  the  poor  Indian,  whose  untutor'd  Mind 

Sees  God  in  Clouds,  or  hears  him  in  the  Wind." — Pope. 


POEMS  127 

Earth's  proud  Masters  trembling  yield, 

111  resign'd,  the  unfought  Field.  408 

Self-borne  thro'  th'  aetherial  plain 
Virtue  led  her  radiant  Train, 
Scorning  Titles,  Wealth,  and  Pow'r, 
Native  Charms  her  only  Dow'r  : 
Yet,  inspir'd  by  Glory's  Flame, 
Pleas'd  she  heard  the  Trump  of  Fame, 
Bade  her  Votaries  pursue 
Where  the  airy  Phantom   flew, 
Wasting  in  the  chace  of  Praise 
Sleepless  Nights  and  restless  Days, 
'Till  a  baseless  Pile  appear'd. 
By  recording  Muses  rear'd  : 
There  the  Brave,  the  Good,   the  Sage, 
Liv'd  in   Clio's  deathless  Page  ; 
There  Calliope  display'd 
Flov^'rv  Wreaths  w^hich  never  fade  ; 
While  Melpomene  sublime 
Rais'd  to  Heav'n  the  Gods  of  Rhime.  426^ 

By  such  splendid  Visions  led 
God-like  Cato  liv'd  and  bled  ; 
Liv'd  the  first  of  human   Race, 
Dy'd  in  Pagan-Pride's  disgrace. 
Sullen  shrinking  in   despair 
From  those   Ills  w^hich   Man  should   bear. 

Brutus,  hi2:h  in  Patriot-Blood, 
Honest,   gen'rous,  brave  and  good. 
Hapless,  wqth  one  erring  Stroke, 
Ri vetted  his  Country's  Yoke, 
Friendship  stabb'd  in  Caesar  slain. 
O'er  Philippe's  fatal  Plain 
Soon  he  saw  a  Shadow  flv, 
Hov'rino;  in  the  ang-rv  Sky, 
Late  his  Guide  : — But  ere  He  fell 
Vanish'd  the  enchanting  Spell, 
Virtue's  unsubstantial  Frame 
Sunk  into  an  empty   Name  : 
Still   He  err'd,  and  in  his  Fall 
Saw  blind  Fortune  govern  all. 
Such  their  Doom  who  unrestrain'd 
Own  no  Laws  for  Man  ordain'd. 


J28  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Lost  to  Blessings  that  await 

Merit  in  a  happier  State  ; 

Nor  behold  in  sweet  Accord 

Virtue's  Charms  and   Heaven's  Reward. 

Socrates,  when  subtle  Art 
Silenc'd   Instinct  in  his  Heart, 
Nor  wou'd  Nature's  Law  obey 
Ill-resign'd  to  tyrant-Swav, 
With   fixt  Eve  and  thirstv  Soul 
Eager  view'd  the  deadly  Bowl, 
With   firm   Hand  the  Blessing  caught, 
Fame  gay-smiling  o'er  the   Draught. 
Yet  high  rais'd  by  mental  Pow'r, 
Did  that  mightv  Genius  tow'r. 
With  all  Nature's  Treasures  fraught, 
By  all  Wisdom's  Learning  taught. 

Such  is  Reason's  strongest  Ray, 
Fading  in  the  Flood  of  Dav 
Now  Heav'n's  saving  Page  hath   shewn 
Truths  to  Socrates  unknown.  468 

All  that  in   fair  Virtue  charms, 
All  in  social  Love  that  warms. 
All  in  Svmpathv  that  glows. 
Melting  at  another's  Woes, 
All  that  righteous  Zeal  should  dare, 
All  that  bids  sweet  Mercy  spare. 
All  that  in  confided  Trust 
Steels  the  never-yielding  Just, 
These,  confirm'd  bv  Heav'n's  Command, 
On  a  Base  eternal  stand.  478 

Tho'  on  some  bleak  Heath  alone, 
In  his  Storm-rent  Cot  unknown. 
The  starv'd  Peasant,  born   to  toil. 
Tills,  unpaid,  a  barren  Soil ; 
Or  fall'n  Greatness  in  the  Shade 
Pain  and  Penury  invade. 
Now  no  more  the  Voice  of  Praise 
Chaunting  loud  the  Poet's  Lays ; 
Tho'  dark  Slander's  venom'd  Tooth 
Wound  the  blameless  Breast  of  Truth  3 


POEMS  129 

Or  a  keener  Foe  intrude, 

Foul  and  false  Ingratitude  ; 

Yet  Religion's  beaming  Ray, 

Portion  of  th'  eternal  Dav, 

With   Heav'n's  potent  Influence  fraught. 

Spotless  Sanctity  of  Thought, 

Patience   firm  with  stifl'd  Sigh, 

Fortitude  with  dauntless  Eye, 

Innocence  in  Virtue  strong. 

Meek  Forgiveness  pard'ning  Wrong, 

Charity's  parental  Tears, 

Faith  that  warms,  and   Hope  that  cheers. 

Can  sweet  Harmony  inspire. 

Sweeter  than  the  Poet's  Lyre.  502 

If  from  the  Accord  of  Things 
Natural  Religion  springs. 
With  sufficient  Force  to  bind 
The  strict  Duties  of  our  Kind,   . 
While  in  Reason's  moral  Light 
Wrong  stands  mark'd  distinct  from  Right, 
Whence,  the  Pride  of  Stoick  Schools, 
Epictetus  drew  his  Rules  ; 
Be  this  boastful  Claim  allow'd  ! 
What  avails  it  to  the  Crowd  ? 
What  to  them,  the  unknown  Use 
Of  Philosophy  abstruse  ? 
Hard  their  Doom,  if  millions  stray 
Whilst  a  Sophist  iinds  his  Way. 

Or,  if  in  the  humble  Shade 
Instinct  prompting  lends  its  Aid, 
Influencing  the  various  Will, 
Some  to  Good,  and  some  to  111, 
DiiFring  as  the  human  Frame 
Differs,  in  no  Two  the  same  ; 
If  all  Virtue's  understood. 
The  mere  Child  of  balmy  Blood  ; 
If  black  Humours  unsupprest 
Taint  with  Vice  the  gloomy   Breast ; 
If  th'  impelling  Flood  commands 
Unrestrain'd  fell  Rapine's  Hands  ; 
Wrong'd  they  fall,  by  Laws  unjust. 
Who  transgress  because  they  must. 


130 


MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

If  the  milder  Stream  supplies 
Mercy's  Beam  in  melting  Eyes  ; 
If  their  purer  Influence  warms, 
Lighting;  all  the  inward   Charms  : 
Sure,  in  partial  Pow'r's  Regard, 
Virtue  finds  undue  Reward. 

Laws,  unequal  to  prevent. 
Know  no  Means  but  Chastisement, 
And  howe'er  with  Wisdom  fraught. 
Claim  no  Empire  over  Thought; 
While  the  unreach'd  Heart  remains 
Foul  with  ulcerated  Stains, 
Where  the  meditated  Sin 
Mocks  all  Pow'r,  and  lurks  within, 
'Till  from  that  polluted  Source 
Crimes  wide  spread  their  wasteful  Course. 

Instinct,  Reason,  Law,  for  Man 
Trac'd  but  an  imperfect  Plan, 
'Till  th'  inspiring  Word  supply'd 
What  to  Nature  was  deny'd  ; 
Truths  alike  to  all  explain'd. 
In  that  Code  for  all  ordain'd, 
Form'd  alike  to  teach  and  bind 
King,  Philosopher,  and  Hind. 

Thus  the  Sov'reign's  Will  exprest 
Frames  his  Law  to  rule  the  Breast ; 
While  his  all-pervading  Eyes 
See  the  Crime  that  brooding  lies, 
See  the  Murd'rer's  dark  Intent, 
Doom'd  to  threat'ned  Punishment, 
Deeply  stain'd  with  moral  Guilt, 
Tho'  Man's  Blood  escap'd  unspilt —  562 

While  the  Spirit  all  divine 
Breathes  in  ev'ry  sacred  Line, 
Shall  vain  Man  with  subtle  Wit 
Parts  reject,  and  Parts  admit  ? 
Stating  Proofs  compar'd  Degrees 
With  Improbabilities  ; 
While  in  his  suspended  Scale 
Reason  dictates  which  prevail. 


POEMS  131 


Yet  the  Sage  in  hungry  Mood, 
Trusts  not  Reason  for  his  Food  ; 
Nor  the  Sense  unsatisfy'd, 
Waits  till  chemick  Art  hath  trv'd 
What  with  most  salubrious  Juice 
Suits  the  wasting  Body's  Use  ; 
Else,  in  gnawing  Hunger's  Pain, 
Long  the  Sage  would   toil  in  vain. 
Thus  our  grosser  Wants  supply'd. 
Taste  an  ever  ready  Guide, 
Shall  what  feeds  the  nobler  Part, 
Cheers  and  purifies  the   Heart, 
Wait  for  tardy  Reason's  Aid, 
Straying  thro'  a  dubious  shade  ? 
While   Enquiry  hangs  perplext 
O'er  the  Comment-blotted  Text. 
In  one  clear  and  perfect  Plan, 
All  Heav'n's  Rules  to  govern  Man, 
On  plain  Nature's  Level  lie, 
Obvious  to  weak  Reason's  Eye. 
Yet  to  these.  Conceits  acute 
Meanings  never  meant  impute. 

Mystery,  before  conceal'd. 
Is  Heav'n's  Knowledge  now  reveal'd 
While  Religion,  soaring  high. 
Spreads  the  Secrets  of  the  Sky. 
Vainly  would  Conception  strain 
Ev'ry  Link  of  Reason's  Chain, 
Far  unequal  to  the  Height 
Of  that  Knowledge  Infinite  j 
But  strong  Faith  compels  Assent, 
As  to  Truths  self-evident. 

Reason's  Weakness  thus  supply'd, 
Fearless  she  pursues  her  Guide, 
Certain   that  the   Wise  and    Good^ 
(Prov'd  in  all  Things  understood) 
Ne'er  with  impious  Tales  deceiv'd 
Those  who  trusted  and  believ'd. 

What  tho'  Sophistry  exert 
All  her  Talents  to  subvert  ? 
Tho  th'   Enthusiast,  Frenzy-fir'd, 


132  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Boast  a  Flame  by  God   inspir'd  ? 

Faith  and   Reason's  Claim  and  Use, 

Rise  unreach'd  by  their  Abuse.  614 

Say,  learned  Deist  !    whose  Assent 
Grants  a  Pow'r  omnipotent, 
One  uncomprehended  Cause 
Acting  by  his  self-formed  Laws, 
Why  thy  varying  Creed  rejects 
Incomprehensible  Effects  ? 
And  would  Reason's  Line  apply 
To  unfathom'd  Mystery  ? 
Does  Creation  stand  explain'd 
To  thy  finite  Mind  wide-strain'd  ? 
While  the  Earth  and  Sea  and  Skies 
PVom  Non-entity  arise, 
Know'st  thou  thro'  all  Nature's  List 
How  one  Atom  doth  exist  ? 
Less  absurd  thy  Faith  would  end 
Where  Men  cease  to  comprehend, 
Tho'  the  Universe  unite 
To  proclaim  the  Infinite.  632 

Gracious  Pow'r  !    to  Thee  we  owe 
All  that  Bounty  can  bestow  j 
We,  the  Objects  of  thy  Care, 
Live  in  Thee,  and  move  and  are  ; 
Yet  superior  Thanks  are  due. 
While  the  promis'd  Bliss  we  view 
In  thy  holy  Word  reveal'd. 
When  thy  Blood  the  Compact  seal'd. 
Shall  the  Atheist,  self-debar'd 
From  th'  ineff^able  Reward  ? 
Shall  the  Deist's  Tribe  profane  ? 
Shall  the  Scorner's  ribbald  Train  ? 
Infidelity  far  spread, 
Raise  the  supercilious  Head  ? 
And  no  Bard,  unaw'd,  rehearse 
Heav'n-taught  Truths,  in  grateful  Verse, 
Rescuing  from  the  impious  Jest 
Those  who  dare  these  Truths  attest.  650 

First  of  those,  bless'd  Monarch,  hail  ! 
Faith  triumphant  shall  prevail, 


POEMS  133 

While  Religion  on  thy  Throne 
Sits,  and  markes  thee  for  her  own. 
Her's  thou  art  by  ev'ry  Claim  : 
In  chaste  Virtue's  sacred  Name, 
In  those  Charities  that  blend 
Sov'reign,  Father,   Husband,  Friend. 
Gratitude  that  thanks  and  prays, 
Zeal  that  worships  and  obeys. 
Stamp  thee  her's,  her  Hope  and  Aid 
When  deserted  and  betray'd 

From  the  Atheist  blindly  bold. 
From  Believers  numb  and  cold. 
Those  who  saving  Truths  reject. 
Those  who  own  them  but  neglect. 
From  the  Reas'ner's  Pride  absurd 
Spurning  Heav'n's  attested  Word, 
From  the  wild   Enthusiast's  Rant, 
From  the   Hypocrite's  false  Cant, 
From  dark   Superstition's  Gloom, 
From  fell  Persecution's  Doom, 
Piety  compell'd  to  fly. 
Finds  thy  Breast  her  Sanctuary. 
Justice,  Clemency,  combin'd. 
Spirit,  resolute  and  kind, 
Pleas'd  to  lead  with  2;entle   Hand, 
Firm  wild   Faction  to  withstand. 
Looks  benignant,  would  impart. 
Feelings  of  a  spotless  Heart, 
All  the  Blessings  these  dispense. 
Speak  the  Heav'n-sent  Influence  ; 
While  staid  Freedom's  sober  Train 
Own  a  Monarch's  legal  Reign, 
Viewing  with  indignant  Eye 
Licence  leading  Anarchy  : 
Nor  shall  delegated  Sway 
Stint  thy  intercepted   Ray, 
Drawing;  to  a  narrow  Line 
Bounty  meant  on  all  to  shine.  690 


VERSES 


ADDRESSED    TO 


THE  QUEEN, 


WITH 


A   NEW   YEAR'S   GIFT 


OF 


IRISH    MANUFACTURE 


By   lord   CLARE. 


LONDON. 
PRINTED   FOR   J.    DODSLEY,   IN   PALL-MALL. 

MDCCLXXV. 


TO 

THE    OUEEN, 


Could  poor  Ierne  Gifts  afford, 

Worthy  the  Consort  of  her  Lord, 
Of  purest  Gold  a  sculptur'd  Frame, 
Just  Emblem  of  her  Zeal,  should  flame  : 
Within,  the  Produce  of  her  Soil, 
Wrought  by  her  Hand  with  curious  Toil, 
Should  from  her  splendid   Looms  supply 
The  richest  Web  of  Tyrian  Dye  ; 
Where  blended  Tints  in  plastic  Lore, 
Might,  breathing,  shame  the  sculptur'd  Ore. 

There  should  the  Royal  Charlotte  trace 
Her  Brunswick,  in  majestic  grace, 
With  Looks  beneficently  kind. 
The  Face  illumin'd  by  the  Mind  ; 
While  He,  with  Joy-transported  Eyes, 
Should  see  his  much-lov'd  Charlotte  rise  ; 
And  Both  behold  their  Infant-train, 
Cull  Flowrets  on  the  pictur'd  Plain, 
Weaving  for  Them  a  fragrant  band. 
More  sweet  from  the  presenting  Hand  : 
Such  was  the  Wreath,  when  Hymen  led 
Our  Monarch  to  his  nuptial  bed  ; 
And  such  the  tender  Chain  which  binds, 
In  mutual  Love,  their  wedded  Minds. 

Nor  here  the  Artist's  skill  should  cease  : 
Glorious  in  War,  and  great  in  Peace 
Our  King  should  stand,  alike  renown'd 
With  Laurel  or  with  Olive  crown'd  : 
Should,  o'er  the  blood-besprinkled  Field, 
Bid  Vengeance  to  Compassion  yield  ; 


138  MEMOIR    OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Or  Justice,  rous'd  by  Faction's  Band, 

Snatch  her  sheath'd  Sword  from  Mercy's  Hand. 

Far  distant  o'er  the  foaming  Main, 
And  distant  may  it  e'er  remain  ! 
A  gathr'ing  Cloud  should  blot  the  Skies, 
And  Mists  in  noxious  Vapour  rise  ; 
Such  as,  in  Summer's  Solstice  spread. 
Steam  from  the  pregnant  Meadow's  Bed  ; 
While  the  bewilder'd  Travellers  roam 
Wide  from  the  Path  which  leads  to  Home  ; 
No  faithful  Mark,  no  Guide  secure 
To  trace  the  palpable  Obscure  : 
And  such  the  Veil  hot  Frenzy  draws 
O'er  Reason,  Liberty,  and  Laws. 

But,  close  behind,  returning  Day 
Should  chace  the  Gloom  obscene  away  ; 
And,  mildly  beaming.  Heaven-sent  Peace 
Bid  Discord  and  Confusion  cease  j 
Lead  FILIAL  Piety  sincere, 
Bath'd  in  a  penitential  Tear, 
To  the  fond  Parent's  melting  Breast, 
Long  lost,  a  dearly  welcome  Guest. 
Kind  Industry,  with  ready  Hand, 
Should  strew  her  Treasures  o'er  the  Land  ; 
Chearful  her  wonted  Toil  resume. 
Rich  Commerce  spread,  fair  Plenty  bloom  ; 
And  Love,  the  universal  Soul, 
Inspire,  combine,  and  bless  the  whole. 

And  O  !  might  poor  Ierne  hope. 
In  sober  Freedom's  liberal  scope. 
To  ply  the  Loom,  to  plough  the   Main, 
Nor  see  Heaven's  Bounties  pour'd  in  vain, 
(i)  Where  starving  Hinds,  from  Fens  and  Rocks, 
View  Pastures  rich  with  Herds  and  Flocks  j 
And  only  view,  forbid  to  taste ; 
Sad  Tenants  of  a  dreary  Waste. 
For  other  Hinds  our  Oxen  bleed  ; 
(2)  Our  Flocks  for  happier  Regions  feed, 
Their  Fleece  to  Gallia's  Looms  resign, 
More  rich  than  the  Peruvian  Mine ; 
Her  Fields  with  barren  Lilies  strown. 
Now  white  with  Treasures  not  her  own. 


POEMS  139 

In  vain  Ierne's  piercing  Cries 
Plaintive  pursue  the  golden  Prize  ; 
While  all  a2;hast  the  Weaver  stands. 
And  drops  the  Shuttle  from    His   Hands. 
Barter  accurst  !    but  mad  Distress 
To  Ruin  flies  from  Wretchedness. 
Theirs  be  the  Blame,  who  bar  the  Course 
Of  Commerce  from  her  genuine  Source, 
And  drive  the  Wretch  his  Thirst  to  slake 
With  Poison,  in  a  stagnant  Lake. 

Hence  Ports  secure  from  ev'ry   Wind, 
For  Trade,  for  Wealth,  for  Power  design'd, 
Where  faithful  Coasts  and  friendly  Gales 
Invite  the  Helm  and   court  the  Sails, 
A  wide  deserted  Space  expand, 
Surrounded  with  uncultur'd   Land. 

(3)  Thence  Poverty,  with  haggard  Eye, 
Beholds  the  British  Streamers  fly  ; 
Beholds  the  Merchant  doom'd  to  brave 
The  treacherous  Shoal,  and  adverse   Wave, 
Constrain'd  to  risk  his  precious  Store, 
And  shun  our  interdicted  Shore. 

(4)  Thus  Britain  works  a  Sister's  Woe  ; 
Thus  starves  a  Friend,  and  gluts  a  Foe. 

Yet  shall  this  humble  Gift  impart 
The  Tribute  of  a  loyal  Heart ; 
And  Thou  with  Smiles  benign  receive  : 
('Tis  all  that  loyal  Heart  can  give.) 
When  on  thy  Robe  with  mingled  Rays, 
The  Ruby  and  the  Diamond  blaze  ; 
Unmindful  of  Golconda's   Prize, 
Thou  mark'st  our  Rapture-sparkling   Eyes  ; 
Faintly  her  Gems  their  Lustre  prove, 
Lost  in  the  Flame  of  Britain's  Love. 
And  when  the  rustic  Chorus  sing 
In  artless  Notes,  God  save  the  King  ; 
Altho',  with  unmelodious  Prayer, 
In  strains  like  mine  They  rend  the  Air ; 
Thy  ravish'd  Ears  forget  the  Lyre, 
E'en  while  Thy  Hands  the  string  inspire  : 
Such  Notes,  when  grateful  Crowds  rejoice, 
Hymn  sweeter  than  a  Seraph's  Voice ; 


140  MEMOIR    OF   EARL   NUGENT 

And  such,  along  the  swarming   Shore, 
Loud-echo'd  to  the  Cannon's  Roar  ; 
While  Britain's  Glory  shone  display'd, 
In  all  the  Pride  of  Pomp  array'd  ; 
Where  sovereign  of  the  briny  Flood, 
Her  Guardian  Genius  smiling  stood. 

NOTES. 

(i)  The  Peasants  of  Ireland  are  driven  to  inhabit  Mountains  and 
Bogs,  in  miserable  Huts,  where  they  never  taste  animal  Food,  while 
large  Tracts  of  as  rich  Land  as  any  in  Europe  are  covered  with  Oxen 
and  Sheep. 

(2)  Ireland  is  prohibited  from  exporting  any  Woollen  Manufacture, 
although  she  might  furnish  many  Foreign  Markets,  now  supplied  by 
France,  particularly  Turkey  and  Portugal,  with  certain  Species  of 
Woollen  Goods,  at  lower  Prices  than  the  French  can  afford  to  sell 
them.  This  Prohibition  obliges  the  Irish  to  carry  on  a  contraband 
Trade,  with  the  French,  in  raw  Wool  so  necessary  to  their  Manufactures, 
that  their  demand  for  it  raises  the  Price  in  Ireland  beyond  the  Reach 
of  the  Irish  Manufacturer  for  Home  Consumption, 

(3)  Vessels,  freighted  with  Goods  from  America,  a  few  Species  only 
excepted,  although  destined  for  the  Irish  Market  and  passing  close  to 
the  Irish  Coast,  are  obliged  by  Law  to  proceed  to,  and  unload  in  some 
Port  of  Great  Britain.  Their  Cargoes,  after  much  Risk,  Expense,  and 
Loss  of  Time,  are  there  re-shipped  to  return  to  the  Place  of  their 
Destination,  through  a  Passage  more  dangerous  than  that  from  America 
to  Ireland. 

(4)  The  Prohibition  to  export  Irish  Woollen  Goods  is  far  from 
being  the  only  Restraint  laid  upon  Ireland,  benehcial  to  the  Manufacture 
and  Trade  of  France.  Among  many  other  Instances,  the  Prohibition 
of  all  Irish  Goods  from  being  sent  to  the  American  Markets,  except 
Linen  and  Provisions,  tempts  our  Colonists  to  admit,  in  a  Contraband 
Trade,  many  Foreign  Articles  which  might  be  had  cheaper  from 
Ireland. 


VERSES 

ADDRESSED      TO      THE 


WITH    A    NEW    YEAR'S    GIFT    OF    IRISH    POTATOES. 
By    lord    knows   WHO.^ 
"  Clara  micante  aiiro " 


"  Materiem  siiperabat  opiis^  nam  Mulciber  illzc.''' — OviD. 

Could  a  poor  Hibernian  dare  ' 

To  emulate  the  generous  Clare, 
Of  shining  pewter  pure  and  clean, 
He'd  make  a  present  to  the  Oueen. 
On  it  a  new  invented  work,  5 

A  charming  etching,  with  a  fork. 
In  curious  stile,  and  matchless  gout. 
All  Herculaneum  should  out  do  ; 
And  as  for  touches,  strokes,  and  air, 
Put  Cipriani  in  despair.  10 

There  should  the  royal  Charlotte  trace 
His  majesty  king  George's  face. 
In  such  nice  strokes  as  shew  it  is 
The  mind  illuminates    the  phyz. 

While  He  should  shake  his  sides  to  see  15 

The  likeness  of  her  Majesty  ; 
And  both  beheld  their  tiny  moppets, 
(Like  the  Fantoccini  puppets,) 
Culling  heaps  of  pretty  posies. 

To  salute  their  Royal  noses  ;  20 

Just  such  posies  as  they  carried. 
To  refresh  them  when  they  married  ; 
And  such  whose    fresh  and  rosy  hue, 

1  An  imitation  of  *'  Verses  addressed  to  The  Queen." 

141 


142  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Recall  the  Georgian  bride  to  view. 

But  something  more  our  skill  to  try  on,  25 

As  mild  as  dove,  as  bold  as  lion. 

Our  King  should  stand — as  thus — a  sprig 

Of  bays  should  dignify  his  wig  ; 

While  olive  branches  stuck  behind. 

To  enemies  should  prove  him  kind  ;  30 

Tho',  if  one  chest  of  tea  is  tost  on 

The  waves,  he's  sure  to  ruin  Britain. 

To  prove  the  point,  in  the  back  ground, 
(That  so  the  distance  might  be  found,) 
A  cloud  of  stinking  smoke  should  rise,  35 

(A  tar  and  feather  sacrifice,) 
Such  as  in  summer  time  is  seen, 
From  burning  weeds  upon  the  green. 
Which  some  old  woman's  purblind  eyes, 
Impute  to  dread  incendiaries,  40 

For  spectacles  she  will  not  take. 
To  see  her  palpable  mistake. 
And,  just  as  wisely  we  lay  stress 
On  the  American  Congress. 

But,  close  behind,  the  sun  should  rise,  45 

By  way  of  clearing  up  the  skies  ; 
And  heavenly  Dartmouth  should  present 
A  recipe  for  sure  content  ; 
Like  naughty  boys,  with  streaming  eyes. 
Should  introduce  the  Colonies,  50 

To  promise,  all  their  squabble  ends, 
If  dear  mama  will  kiss  and  friends  ; 
Then  how  should  industry  abound  ; 
With  not  a  beggar  to  be  found  ; 

E'en  sharpers  should  grow  honest  then,  55 

And  none  be  rogues   but  Fielding's  men  ; 
And  Love,  that  little  smiling  boy, 
Give  us  a  belly  full  of  joy. 

And  oh  !    while  miracles  take  place. 
May  not  poor  Ireland  hope  for  grace  ?  60 

No  more,  to  view  Heaven's  gifts  in  vain. 
Let  her  have  leave   "  to  plough  the  main  "  ; 
Because  her  land's  so  very  poor. 
To  plough  on  that  she  can't  endure  ; 
Exports  of  beef,  good  Queen,  condemn  ;  65 


POEMS  143 

Leave  Irish  bulls  for  Irish  men 
That  so  WE  may  not  still  complain, 
We  are  the  only  beasts  remain  ; 
But  chief  forbid  to  cross  the  seas, 

Our  sheep those  worst   of  absentees.  70 

For  them  we  make  a  double  struggle, 

Mutton  to  eat,  and  wool  to  smuggle  ; 

Tho',  (by  the  way)  my  mind  it  racks. 

That  Irish  wool  cloaths  Frenchmen's  backs  ; 

But  Frenchmen,  like  ill-natur'd  fellows,  75 

Will  never  cease  to  undersell  us ; 

Thence,  to  avenge  such  treatment  foul, 

We  all  set  up  "  the   Irish  howl.  ' 

The  godlike  weavers  catch  the  sound. 

And  raging  white  boys  spread  around  :  80 

Hanging  ensues  !    that  unkind  way 

To  terminate  an   Irish  fray. 

Theirs  be  the  blame,  who  are  the  cause. 

By  making  those  strange  things  call'd  laws, 

That  give  the  weaver's  fancy  scope,  85 

In  manufacturing a  rope. 

Laws  are  the  cruel    obstacles,  my  dear, 
Good  Lady,  to  our    Irish  chear. 
For  what,  though  all  along  our  shore. 
The  winds  are  too  polite  to  roar,  90 

Though  they  blow  an  invitation 
To  the  ships  of  ev'ry  nation. 
The  merchants  first  must  pay  their  court, 
By  touching  at  a  British  port : 

A  form  of  law  that's  very  troubling  95 

To  the  vessels  bound    for  Dublin  ! 
Thus  Britain  has  the  upper  hand. 
Though  why  I  cannot  understand. 
Unless  to  shew  us,  'gainst  our  will. 
That  she's  our  elder  sister  still.  lOO 

And,  yet  shall  these  Potatoes  prove 
Emblems  of  Hibernian  love  : 
Emblems  though  poor,  yet,  as  I  live, 
They're  all  I  can  afford  to  give. 

Then  scruple  not  to  eat  your  fill,  105 

As  they  are  tokens  of  good  will  : 
So,  though  your   Majesty  display 
Your  glittering  jewels  at    the  play. 


144  MEMOIR    OF   EARL   NUGENT 

YouM  rather  see  one  English  grin, 

Than  view  your  finest  diamond  pin,  IIO 

Because,  the  ogles  of  John  Trot 

Can  make  your  diamonds  quite  forgot : 

And,  if  St.   Margaret's  steeple  ring, 

In  broken  notes,  "  God  save  the   King  ;  " 

Although  the  bells  as  badly  chime,  115 

As  even  I  myself  can  rhyme, 

YouM  rather  list  to  them,  than  play 

At  your  ovv^n  harpsichord    all  day  ; 

Because  vv^hatever  makes  a  noise, 

May  seem  at  least  like  public  joys;  120 

So  when  the  King  to  Portsmouth  flew, 

To  give  the  navy  a  review. 

Soon  as  the  guns  began   to  fire, 

(A  compliment  great  folks  admire,) 

The  Genius  smilM,  and  vow'd  before,  125 

He  ne'er  had  felt  such  joys  on  shore. 


Finis. 


THE 

GENIUS   OF    IRELAND, 

A 

NEW   YEAR'S   GIFT   TO   LORD    CLARE. 

IN   RETURN   TO   HIS   LORDSHIP'S   TO   THE   QUEEN. 
'■''  Jicbes  Renovare  Dolorem^ — ViRG. 

Whilst  you,  my  Lord,  were  proud  to  raise 
A  Trophy  to  your  Sovereign's  Praise  ; 
And  darM  for  This,  the  Muses  Doom, 
To  bear  the  Labours  of  the  Loom  ; 
Who,  Maids  of  Honour  like,  ne'er  knew 
To  weave,  or  spin,  or  knot,  or  sew  ; 
Those  happy  Maids,  whom  Court  denies 
To  toil,  but  with  their  Tongues  and  Eyes  ! 
Yet  harder  still,  you  dar'd  to  summon, 
These  Muses  to  an  Irish  Common  j 

Where, — like  the  Witches  in   Macbeth, 
So  wide,  so  bleak,  so  rough,  so  drear. 

Appeared  the  Scene,  They  thought  that  Death 
Had  summon'd  Them  to  meet  with  Fear; 

And  form  some  solemn  Dirge  below. 
To  human  Crimes  and  human  Woe. 

Affrighted  at  thy  thund'ring  Voice, 

Without  a  Moment's  Thought  for  Choice, 

They  came  ;  and  hop'd  another  GRAY 

His  Muses  summon'd   thus  away. 

To  lay  the  Warp,  the  Woof  to  ply. 

For  Verse  of  Immortality  ; 

But  when  commanded  thus  abroad, 

145  L 


146  MEMOIR   OF  EARL   NUGENT 

A  meer  Ephemera  to  borrow, 
The  Gewgaw  of  a  New- Year's  Ode, 

That's  Verse  to  Day,  and  Dung  to  Morrow, 

Was  all  your  Honour  ask'd  ; They  rose. 

In  Clamour  never  known  in  Prose  ; 
Such  Strokes  no  Mortal  can  Rehearse, 
'Twas  JUNIUS  Sharpen'd  into  Verse  ; 
At  length  the  Ladies  Crash  declin'd, 
Whilst  thus  their  last  Sobs  to  the  Wind 

Euterpe  gave, at  such  a  Time, 

'  Not  strive  to  build  the  lofty  Rhime  ! 
'  Whether  ^  Religion  or  the  Queen 
'  Are  drag'd  upon  the  public  Scene  ; 
'Ne'er  judge  what  sounds  to  Each  belong! 

'  Give  what  is  easy  for  what's  fit ! 
'  A  Haberdasher  in  Sing-Song  ! 

'  A  meer  Retailer  of  Small-Wit ! 

'  And  yet  this  lazy-Rhiming  Wight 

'  We  follow'd  Morning,  Noon  and  Night : 

'  At  Morn  for  Thoughts,  at  Eve  for  Dreams, 

'To  Us  He  was  so  deep  a  Debtor, 
'  That  Horace,  Antient  as  he  seems, 

'  Was  scarcely  known  to  treat  with  better  ; 

'And  when  He  chose  his  Head  to  Pop 
'  Into  Friend  ^  Dodley's  Rhiming  Shop, 
'  I  speak  the  Truth,  nor  more  nor  less, 
'  Princes  were  honour'd  by  the  Press  ; 
'  But  thus  in  glowing  Stile  He  wrote, 
'  E'er  Heralds  blazon'd  up  his  Coat  ; 

'  E'er  lazy  Title,  splendid  Ease, 

'  Discharg'd  Us  from  his  Witty   Board, 

'  Forbad  a  Coronet  to  seize, 
'  Or  know  a  Poet  in  a  Lord. 

'  Above  all  scribbling  Hopes  and  Fears, 
'  He  laughs  away  declining  Years  ; 
'  Nor  courts  again  with  aching  Head 


1 
2 


See  a  late  Poem,  Y'cleped  Faith,  by  L C . 

See  in  Dodsley's  Collection  the  Ode  to  Mankind  with  an  Intro- 
duction to  Frederick  Prince  of  Wales,  and  other  fine  Odes  by  L d 

C . 


POEMS  147 

'  Th*  Inspiring  Days  of  good  Prince  FRED ! 

'  Except  when, what's  as  warm  as  Beauty, 

'  The  Politicians  term  it E)uty, 

'  Bids  the  Vice-Treasurer  to  impart, 
'  The  Tribute  of  a  grateful  Heart, 

'  And  for 3000  1.  per  Ann. 

'  To  compliment  the  best  He  can  ; 
'To  help  Him  at  this  painful  Lift, 
'And  fritter  out  a  New- Year's  Gift, 
'  To  manufacture  Irish  Stuff,i 
'  Truth's  Emblem,  as  its  plain  and  rough  ; 

'  Here  far  from  Gosfield  Grove  and  Hall, 
'  In  spite  of  Climate,  Wind  and  Weather, 

'  Obedient  to  his  Lordship's  Call, 

'  A  pretty  Group  We  make  together  ! 

'  Say  Sisters  !   what  shall  We  afford 

'  Our  Quondam  Friend,  this  Irish  Lord  ? 

'  To  suit  his  cultivated  Taste  !  ' 

She  stop'd  ; For,  Tenant  of  the  Waste, 

With  crouching  Gait  and  Footstep  slow. 

Tottering  beneath  the  weight  of  Woe, 

With  furrow'd  Forehead,  haggard  Eye, 

Lank  Cheek,  pale  Lip,  and  livid  Hue, 
The  Genius  stern  of  Poverty 

Slow  from  his  Cavern  crawl'd  to  view  ; 

And  thus  began, "Whoever  mov'd, 

"This  Kingdom  views,  by  Nature  lov'd, 
"Where  all  that  decks  the  Land  or  Main, 

"Commercial  Traffick,  Fruitful  Soil, 
"  By  Her  are  giv'n,  but  giv'n  in  vain, 

"  White  fetter'd  is  the  Hand  of  Toil ; 

"  He,  He  alone,  will  truly  see, 
"  The  Curse  of  Modern  Policy  ; 
"  He,  He  alone  will  truly  feel 
"  The  Sorrows  that  I  now  reveal ; 
"  How  Industry  can  scarcely  give 
"  The  little  privilege  to  Live  ; 
"Britain  just  gleans  enough  for  Tools, 

1  Irish   Stuff  presented  with  the  Verses  to  the   Queen  as  a  New 
Year's  Gift. 


148  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

"  To  silence  Knaves  and  fatten  Fools ; 

"  Whatever  else  our  Heaven  bestows, 

"  To  starve  our  Friends  must  glut  our  Foes ; 

"The  Stream  tho'  Ours,  tho'  Ours  its  Source, 

"  Forbidden  to  direct  its  Course, 

"  We  never  taste,  while  We  survey, 

"  The  Bread  We  might  to  All  convey  ; 

"  But  with  a  Toil-confounding  Moan, 

"  Feed  every  Nation  but  our  own  ; 

"  Each  Patriot,  thus,  in  Truth  or  Jest, 

"  Of  Tyranny  the  Picture  draws, 
"But  still  in  Shades  he  sinks  the  Rest, 
"  Nor  ever  dares  to  Hint  the  Cause  : 
"What  Curse  is  Theirs  then  who  deny 
"  That   Blessed  Bond  of  Amity, 
"Which  Sea  to  Sea  and  Shore  to  Shore 
"  Uniting,  would  each  Isle  Restore, 
"What,  by  Position  Nature  meant, 
"  A  Power  to  guide  the  Continent ; 
"To  make  the  Noise  of  Nations  cease, 
"  And  lull  the  Dogs  of  War  to  Peace  ; 
"  Whilst  o'er  these  mighty  Isles  They  saw 
"  One  King,  one  Parliament,  one  Law, 
"  Allowing  all,  that  Freedom  cou'd, 
"  Commerce  for  universal  Good, 
"  Which  had  for  Us  each  Sail  unfurld, 
"  And  in  our  Power  would  Guard  the  World  ? 
"  What  Curse  is  Theirs,  each  recreant  Slave, 
"  Who  Nature's  Laws  thus  dares  to  brave, 
"  And  while  two  Islands  stretch  their  Hands, 
"  Steps  forth  and  will  forbid  the  Bands  ; 
"  Each  pension'd  Slave  of  Strings  and  Stars, 
"  The  Ruler  of  our  petty  Jars, 
"  Each  Patriot  Slave,  whose  petty  Cause, 
"  The  Bubble  of  a  Mob's  Applause, 
"  Can  scorn  the  Gift  Dominion  brings, 
"  And  fetter  Liberty  with  Kings  ? 

"  Be  it,  ay be  it in  one  Word, 

"  A  King,  Mob,  Commoner  or  Lord, 
"  For  narrow  Views  by  narrow  Arts, 
"  Who  separates  united  Hearts  ; 
"  Where  one  the  Interest,  one  the  Voice, 
"  Wou'd  rule  Them  by  divided  Choice  ; 


POEMS  149 

"Would  keep  the  Bridegroom  from  the  Bride, 

"  The  Body  sever  from  the  Soul, 
"  Britain  from  Ireland,  who  Divide, 

"Give  Them Mass! an  IRISH  HOWL!" 

He  said, and  with  a  more  than  mortal  Groan 

Shook  either  Land  ; the   Muses  fled  through  Fear  ; 

GEORGE  wail'd   the  Base-born  arts  that  rule  a   Throne, 

And  CHARLOTTE  bless'd  each  Kingdom  with  a  Tear. 


AN    EPISTLE   TO    MR.    POPE 

By  the  same. 


Heaven  in  the  human  breast  implants 

Fit  appetites  for  all  our  wants  ; 
With  hunger  prompts  to  strengthening  food, 
With  love  of  praise  to  public  good  ; 
These  to  their  object  strait  convey, 
While  reason  winds  her  tardy  way. 

Yet  in  one  center  should  unite, 
Faith,  instinct,  reason,  appetite  : 
One  perfect  plan  ordain'd  to  trace. 
And  nature  dignify  with  grace  ; 
In  one  great  system  meant  to  roll, 
To  move,  support,  and  guide  the  whole. 

But  some  there  are  who  rigid   blame 
The  mind  that  thirsts  for  righteous  fame  ; 
And  with  weak  lights  presumptuous  scan 
The  springs  which  move  predestined  man. 
And  some  there  are,  accurs'd   their  art. 
Though  all  the  nine  their  charms  impart. 
Who  in  false  forms  of  great  and  just, 
Cloath  av'rice,  treachery,  rage  and  lust : 
As  if  superior  beings  suit 
Those  attributes  which  sink  the  brute. 
But  vainly  chime  the  partial  lays. 
Chaste  Fame  rejects  all  spurious  praise. 
She,  fairest  offspring  of  the  skies. 
The  goddess  of  the  brave  and  wise. 
Whose  sacred  impulse  prompts  the  best 
To  succour  and  preserve  the  rest. 
Is  deaf  to  every  private  call. 
And  wakes  but  at  the  voice  of  all. 

150 


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1  l'  IT,  •>■>  ■>        ^        -,        •> 


I'aY. 


ALEXANDER   POPE 


,  f  r     r  f  r   r 


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POEMS  151 

From  heaps  of  ill-collected  gain, 
From  hecatombs  by  heroes  slain, 
From  courts,  where  guilty  greatness  dwells, 
She  flies  to  penury  and  cells ; 
With  Erskine,  pious  exile,  goes, 
To  sooth  a  drooping  father's  woes ; 
Or  mingling  with  the  orphan-train, 
She  flin2;s  the  bounties  of  Germain. 

Nor  pow'r,  nor  policy  of  state. 
Can  ever  give  intrinsic  weight : 
And  should  fallacious  art  display 
O'er  titled  dross  a  golden  ray. 
Still  baser  through   detecting  years. 
The  speckled  counterfeit  appears. 

But  when  from  proof,  fair  issuing  forth. 
The  ore  asserts  its  native  worth  j 
Then,  sov'reign  bard,  'tis  justly  thine 
And  consecrated  with  thy  name. 
To  treasure  in  the  stores  of  Fame. 


EPISTLE   TO   POLLIO,  FROM  THE   HILLS 
OF    HOWTH    IN    IRELAND. 


By  the  same. 


PoLLio  !    would'st  thou  condescend 
Here  to  see  thy  humble  friend. 
Far  from  doctors,  potions,  pills. 
Drinking  health  on  native  hills ; 
Thou  the  precious  draught  may'st  share, 
Lucy  shall  the  bowl  prepare. 
From  the  brousing  goat  it  flows, 
From  each  balmy  shrub   that  grows  ; 
Hence  the  kidling's  wanton  fire. 
Hence  the  nerves  that  brace  his  sire. 
Vigorous,  buxom,  young  and  gay, 
Thou  like  them  shalt  love  and  play. 


152  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

What,  though  far  from  silver  Thames, 
Stately  piles,  and  courtly  dames ; 
Here  we  boast  a  purer  flood, 
Joys  that  stream  from  sprightly  blood  ; 
Here  is  simple  beauty  seen, 
Fair,  and  cloth'd  like  beauty's  queen  : 
Nature's  hands  the  garbs  compose. 
From  the  lilly  and  the  rose. 
Or,  if  charrned  with  richer  dies. 
Fancy  every  robe  supplies. 
Should  perchance  some  high-born  fair, 
Absent,  claim  thy  tender  care  ; 
Here,  enraptur'd  shalt  thou  trace, 

S 's  ^ape,  and  R 's  face  ; 

While  the  waking  dream  shall  pay 
Many  a  wishing,  hopeless  day. 
Domes  with  gold  and  toil  unbought, 
Rise  by  magic  pow'r  of  thought. 
Where  by  artist's  hand  undrawn. 
Slopes  the  vale,  and  spreads  the  lawn  j 
As  if  sportive  nature  meant. 
Here  to  mock  the  works  of  Kent. 

Come,  and  with  thee  bring  along 
Jocund  tale  and  witty  song, 
Sense  to  teach,  and  words  to  move, 
Arts  that  please,  adorn,  improve  ; 
And,  to  gild  the  glorious  scene. 
Conscience  spotless  and  serene. 

Poor  with  all  a  H t's  store. 

Lives  the  man  who  pines  for  more. 
Wretched  he  who,  doom'd  to  roam, 
Never  can  be  blest  at  home  ; 
Nor  retire  within  his  mind. 
From  th'  ungrateful  and  unkind. 
Happy  they  whom  crowds  befriend, 
Curs'd  who  on  the  crowd  depend  ; 
On  the  great  one's  peevish  fit. 
On  the  coxcomb's  spurious  wit ; 
Ever  sentenc'd  to  bemoan 
Other  failings  in  their  own. 

If,  like  them,  rejecting  ease, 
Hills  and  heath  no  longer  please  ; 
Quick  descend  ! — Thou  may'st  resort 
To   the  viceroy's  splendid  court. 


POEMS  r53 


There,  indignant,  shalt  thou  see 
Cringing  slaves  who  might  be  free, 
Brib'd  with  titles,  hope  or   gain, 
Tye  their  country's  shameful  chain  ; 
Or,  inspired   by  heaven's  good  cause. 
Waste  the  land  with  holy  laws  : 
While  the  gleanings  of  their  power, 
Lawyers,  lordlings,  priests  devour. 
Now  methinks,  I  hear  thee  say, 
"  Drink  alone  thy  mountain-whey  ! 
Wherefore  tempt  the   Irish  shoals  ? 
Sights  like  these  are  nearer  Paul's." 


AN    EPISTLE. 

By  the  same. 

Through  the  wild  maze  of  life's  still  varying  plan. 

Bliss  is  alone  th'  important  talk  of  man. 
All  else  is  trifling,  whether  grave  or  gay, 
A  Newton's  labours,  or  an  infant's  play  ; 
Whether  this  vainly  wafts  th'  unheeded  fun, 
Or  those  more  vainly  mark  the  course  it  run  ; 
For  of  the  two,  sure  smaller  is  the  fault. 
To  err  unthinkina;,  than  to  err  with  thought ; 
But  if,  like  them,  we  still  must  trifles  use. 
Harmless  at  least,  like  theirs,  be  those  we  chuse. 
Enough  it  is  that  reason  blames  the  choice. 
Join  not  to  her's  the  wretch's  plaintive  voice  ; 
Be  folly  free  from  guilt:    let  foplings  play. 
Or  write,  or  talk,  or  dress,  or  die  away. 
Let  those,  if  such  there  be,  whose  giant-mind 
Superior  tower's  above  their  pigmy  kind, 
Unaided  and  alone,  the  realms  explore. 
Where  hail  and  snow  renew  their  treasur'd  store. ^ 
Lo  !    heav'n  spreads  all  its  stars  ;    let  those  explain. 
What  balanc'd  pow'rs  the  rolling  orbs  sustain  ; 

^  Job,  chap,  xxxviii. 


154  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Nor  in   more  humble  scales,  pernicious  weigh 
Sense,  justice,  truth,  against  seducing  pay. 
So  distant  regions  shall  employ  their  thought, 
And  spotless  senates  here  remain  unbought. 

Well  had  great  ^  Charles,  by  early  want  inspir'd. 
With  warring  puppets,  guiltless  praise  acquired. 
So  would  that  flame  have  mimic  fights  engag'd, 
Which  fann'd  by  pow'r,  o'er  wasted  nations  rag'd. 

Curs'd  be  the  wretch,  should  all  the  mouths  of  fame. 
Wide  o'er  the  world  his  deathless  deeds  proclaim, 
Who  like  a  baneful  comet  spreads  his  blaze. 
While  trembling  crowds  in  stupid  wonder  gaze  ; 
Whose  potent  talents  serve  his  lawless  will. 
Which  turns  each  Virtue  to  a  public  ill, 
With  direful  rage  perverted  might  employs. 
And  heaven's  great  ends  with  heaven's  best  means  destroys. 
The  praise  of  power  is  his,  whose  hand  supplies 
Fire  to  the  bold,  and  prudence  to  the  wise  ; 
While  man  this  only  real  merit  knows. 
Fitly  to  use  the  gift  which  heaven  bestows  : 
If  savage  valour  be  his  vaunted  fame. 
The  mountain-lion  shall  dispute  his  claim  : 
Or,  if  perfidious  wiles  deserve  applause, 
Through  slighted  vows,  and  violated  laws ; 
The  subtle  plotter's  title  stands  confess'd. 
Whose  dagger  gores  the  trusting  tyrant's  breast. 
And  sure  the  villain  less  deserves  his  fate. 
Who  stabs  one  wretch,  than  he  who  stabs  a  state. 
Now,  mighty  hero  !    boast  thy  dear  delights. 
The  price  of  toilsome  days  and  sleepless  nights ; 
Say,  canst  thou  aught  in  purple  grandeur  find, 
Sweet  as  the  slumbers  of  the  lowly  hind  ? 

Better  are  ye,  the  youthful  and  the  gay. 
Who  jocund  rove  through  pleasure's  flow'ry  way  ! 
Ye  seek  not  there  for  bliss  !    your  toil  were  vain, 
(And  disappointed  toil  is  double  pain) 
Though  from  the  living  fount  your  nectar-bowls 
Pour  the  soft  balm  upon  your  thirsty  souls ; 
Though  pure  the  spring,  though  every  draught  sincere. 
By  pain  unbitter'd,  and  unpall'd  by  fear ; 
Though  all  were  full  as  high  as  thought  can  soar, 

1  Charles  V.,  Emperor  of  Germany,  who  in  his  retirement  amused 
himself  with  puppets.     See  Strada  de  hello  Belgico. 


POEMS  155 

'Till  fancy  fires,  and  wishes  crave  no  more  : 

Let  lovely  woman  artless  charms  display, 

Where  truth  and  goodness  bask  in  beauty's  ray  ;  \ 

Let  heavenly  melody  luxuriant  float 

In  swelling  sounds,  and  breathe  the  melting  note  ; 

Let  gen'rous  wines  enliv'ning  thought  inspire. 

While  social  converse  sooths  the  genial  fire  : 

If  aught  can  yet  more  potent  charms  dispense, 

Some  stronger  rapture,  some  sublimer  sense  ; 

Be  these  enjoy'd. — Then  from  the  crowd  arise 

Some  chief,  in  life's  full  pride  maturely  wise. 

Ev'n  you,  my  Lord,  with  titles,  honours  grac'd, 

And  higher  still  by  native  merit  plac'd  ; 

By  stinted  talents  to  no  sphere  confin'd, 

Free  ranging  every  province  of  the  mind  : 

Equally  fit,  a  nation's  weight  to  bear, 

Or  shine  in  circles  of  the  young  and  fair  ; 

In  grave  debates  instructed  senates  move, 

Or  melt  the  glowing  dame  to  mutual  love. 

To  heighten  these,  let  conscious  worth  infuse 

Sweet  ease,  and  smiling  mirth  th'  inspiring  Muse. 

Then  answer,  thou  of  every  gift  possess'd. 

Say,  from  thy  soul,  art  thou  sincerely  blest  ; 

To  various  objects  wherefore  dost  thou  range  ! 

Pleasure  must  cease,  ere  man  can  wish  to  change. 

Hast  thou  not  quitted  Flaccus'  sacred  lay. 

To  talk  with  Bavius,  or  with  Flavia  play  ; 

When  wasted  nature  shuns  the  large  expence 

Of  deep  attention  to  exalted  sense  ! 

Precarious  bliss  !   which  soon,  which  oft  must  cloy. 

And  which  how  few,  how  very  few  enjoy  ! 

Say,  is  there  aught,  on  which,  completely  blest. 
Fearless  and  full  the  raptur'd  mind  may  rest  ? 
Is  there  aught  constant  ?     Or,  if  such  there  be, 
Can  varying  man  be  pleas'd  with  constancy  ? 
Mark  then  what  sense  the  blessing  must  employ  ! 
The  senses  change,  and  loath  accustom'd  joy, 
Eden  in  vain  immortal  sweets  displays. 
If  the  taste  sickens,  or  our  frame  decays. 
The  range  of  life  contracted  limits  bound  ; 
Yet  more  confin'd  is  pleasure's  faithless  round  : 
Fair  op'ning  to  the  sight,  when  first  we  run, 
But,  ah  !   how  alter'd,  when  again   begun  ! 
When  tir'd  we  view  the  same  known  prospect  o'er, 


156  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

And  lagging,  tread  the  steps  we  trod  before. 
Now  clogg'd  with  spleen,  the  lazy  current  flows. 
Through  doubts,  and  fears,  and  self-augmenting  woes  ; 
'Till  fated,  loathing,  hopeless  here  of  bliss. 
Some  plunge  to  seek  it  into  death's  abyss. 

Of  all  superfluous  wealth's  unnumber'd  stings. 
The  sharpest  is  that  knowledge  which  it  brings ; 
Enjoyment  purchas'd  makes  its  object  known, 
And  then,  alas  !   each  soft  illusion's  flown  : 
Love's  promis'd  sweet,  ambition's  lofty  scheme. 
The  painter's  image,  and  the  poet's  theme. 

These,  in  perspective  fair  exalted  high. 
Attract  with  seeming  charms  the  distant  eye  : 
But  when  by  envious  Fortune  plac'd  too  near, 
Mis-shapen  forms,  and  grosser  tints  appear  : 
Where  lovely  Venus  led  her  beauteous  train. 
Some  friend  gigantic  holds  her  monstrous  reign  ; 
Crowns,  sceptres,  laurels  are  confus'dly  strow'd, 
A  wild,  deform'd,  unmeaning,  heavy  load. 

Some  pleasures  here  with  sparing  hand  are  giv'n. 
That  sons  of  earth  should  taste  their  promis'd  heav'n  ; 
But  what  was  meant  to  urge  us  to  the  chace, 
Now  stops,  or  sideway  turns  our  devious  race  : 
Though  still  to  make  the  destin'd  course  more  plain. 
Thick  are  our  erring  paths  beset  with  pain  ; 
Nor  has  one  object  equal  charms  to  prove 
The  fitting  center  of  our  restless  love. 
And  when  the  great  Creator's  will  had  join'd. 
Unequal  pair  !   the  body  and  the  mind, 
Lest  the  proud  spirit  should  neglect  her  clay, 
He  bad  corporeal  objects  thought  convey  : 
Each  strong  sensation  to  the  foul  impart, 
Ecstatic  transport  or  afllicting  smart  : 
By  that  entic'd,  the  useful  she  enjoys  ; 
By  this  deterr'd,  she  flies  whate'er  destroys  : 
Hence  from  the  dagger's  point  sharp  anguish  flows. 
And  the  soft  couch  is  spread  with  sweet  repose. 

In  something  frail,  though  gen'ral  this  design. 
For  some  exceptions  every  rule  confine  : 
Yet  few  were  they,  while  nature's  genuine  store 
Supply'd  our  wants,  nor  man  yet  fought  for  more  ; 
Ere  diflp'rent  mixtures  left  no  form  the  same. 
And  vicious  habits  chang'd  our  sickly  frame. 
Now  subtle  art  may  gild  the  venom'd  pill. 


POEMS 

And  bait  with  soothing  sweets  destructive  ill. 

To  narrow  self  heav'n's  impulse  unconfin'd 
Diffusive  reigns,  and  takes  in  all  our  kind. 
The  smile  of  joy  reflected  joy  imparts  ; 
The  wretch's  groans  pierce  sympathizing  hearts. 
Yet  not  alike  are  all  conjoin'd  with  all, 
Nor  throng  with  rival  heat  to  nature's  call  : 
By  varying  instinct  different  ties  are  known, 
With  love  superior  points  to  each  his  own  ; 
Those  next  the  reach  of  our  assisting  hands. 
And  those  to  whom  we're  link'd  by  kindred   bands  ; 
Those  who  most  want,  and  best  deserve  our  care. 
In  warmer  streams  the  sacred  influence  share  : 
Ambrosial  sweets  her  infant's  lips  distils. 
While  through  the  mother's  heart  quick  rapture  thrills. 
The  social  fire's  friend,  servant,  neighbour  claim, 
Which  blaze  collected  in  the  patriot's  flame  : 
Hence  Britain  throbs  superior  in  thy  soul, 
Nor  idly  wak'st  thou  for  the  distant  pole. 

Yet  farther  still  the  saving  instinct  moves. 
And  to  the  future  wide  extends  our  loves  ; 
Glows  in  our  bosom  for  an  unborn  race. 
And  warms  us  mutual  to  the  kind  embrace. 
For  this,  to  man  was  giv'n  the  graceful  air  j 
For  this,  was  woman  form'd  divinely  fair. 

But  now  to  pleasure  sensual  views  confin'd, 
Reach  not  the  use,  for  which  it  was  design'd  : 
To  this  one  point  our  hopes,  our  wishes  tend. 
And  thus  mistake  the  motive  for  the  end. 
Whatever  sensations  from  enjoyment  flow, 
Our  erring  thought  to  matter's  force  would  owe  , 
To  that  ascribe  our  pleasures  and  our  pains. 
And  blindly  for  the  cause  mistake  the  means  ; 
In  od'rous  meads  the  vernal  gale  we  praise. 
Or  dread  the  storm,  that  blows  the  wintry  seas  ; 
While  he's  unheeded,  who  alone  can  move, 
Claims  all  our  fears,  and  merits  all  our  love  ; 
Alone  to  souls  can  sense  and  thought  convey, 
Through  the  dark  mansions  of  surrounding  clay. 

Man,  part  from  heav'n,  and  part  from  humble  earth, 
A  motley  substance,  takes  his  various  birth  ; 
Close  link'd  to  both,  he  hangs  in  difPrent  chains. 
The  pliant  fetter  length'ning  as  he  strains. 
If,  bravely  conscious  of  her  native  fires. 


^S7 


158  MEMOIR   OF   EARL    NUGENT 

To  the  bold  height  his  nobler  frame  aspires  ; 
Near  as  she  soars  to  join  th'  approaching  skies, 
Our  earth  still  lessens  to  her  distant  eyes. 
But   if  o'erpois'd  she  sinks,  her  downward  course 
Each  moment  weighs,  with  still  augmenting  force  ; 
Low  and  more  low,  the  burden'd  spirit  bends. 
While  weaker  still  each  heav'nly  link  extends  ; 
'Till  prostrate,  grov'ling,  fetter'd  to  the  ground, 
She  lies  in  matter's  heap  o'erwhelm'd  and  bound. 
Wrapt  in  the  toils  of  sin,  just  heav'n  employs 
What  caus'd  her  guilt,  to  blast  her  lawless  joys  : 
Love,  potent  guardian  of  our  lengthening  race, 
Unnerves  the  feeble  lecher's  cold  embrace  ; 
And  appetite,  by  nature  giv'n  to  save, 
Sinks  the  gorg'd  glutton  in  his  early  grave. 

What  sends  yon  fleet  o'er  boist'rous  seas  to  roll, 
Beneath  the  burning  line,  and  frozen   pole  ? 
Why  ravage  men  the  hills,  the  plains,  the  woods  ? 
Why  spoil  all  nature,  earth,  and  air,  and  floods  ? 
Seek  they  some  prize  to  help  a  sinking  state. 
No  ! — this  must  all  be  done  ere  Bernard^  eat. 
Tell  it  some  untaught  savage  !   with  surprise 
He  asks,  "  How  vast  must  be  that  giant's  size  ! 
"  How  great  his  pow'r,  who  thousands  can  employ  ! 
"  How  great  his  force,  who  millions  can  destroy  !  " 
But  if  the  savage  would,  more  curious,  know 
What  potent  virtues  from  such  viands  flow. 
What  blest  effects  they  cause — consult  with  Sloane, 
Let  him  explain  the  colic,  gout,  and  stone  ! 

Pleasure's  for  use  ;   it  differs  in  degree, 
Proportion'd  to  the  thing's  necessity. 
Hence  various  objects  variously  excite, 
And  diff'rent  is  the  date  of  each  delight ; 
But  when  th'  allotted  end  we  once  attain, 
Each  step  beyond  it,  is  a  step  to  pain. 
Nor  let  us  murmur. — Hath  not  earth  a  store 
For  every  want  ?   it  was  not  meant  for  more. 

Blest  is  the  man,  as  far  as  earth  can  bless, 
Whose  measur'd  passions  reach  no  wild  excess  ; 
Who,  urg'd  by  nature's  voice,  her  gifts  enjoys. 
Nor  other  means,  than  nature's  force,  employs. 

^  A  Frenchman  render' d  famous  for  a  most  extravagant  expence  in 
eating. 


POEMS  159 

While  warm  with  youth  the  sprightly  current  flows, 

Each  vivid  sense  with  vig'rous  rapture  glows  ; 

And  when  he  droops  beneath  the  hand  of  age, 

No  vicious  habit  stings  with  fruitless  rage  ; 

Gradual,  his  strength,  and  gay  sensations  cease, 

While  joys  tumultous  sink  in  silent  peace. 
Far  other  is  his  lot,  who,  not  content 

With  what  the  bounteous  care  of  nature  meant, 

With  labour'd  skill  would  all  her  joys  dilate. 

Sublime  their  sense,  and  lengthen  out  their  date  ; 

Add,  blend,  compose,  each  various  mixture  try, 

And  wind  up  appetite  to  luxury. 

Thus  guilty  art  unknown  desires  implants, 

And  viler  arts  must  satisfy  their  wants  ; 

When  to  corruption  by  himself  betray'd, 

Gold  blinds  the  slave,  whom  luxury  has  made. 
The  hand,  that  form'd  us,  must  some  use  intend. 

It  gives  us  powVs  proportioned  to  that  end  ; 

And  happiness  may  justly  be  defin'd 

A  full  attainment  of  the  end  design'd. 

Virtue  and  wisdom  this  alike  implies, 

And  blest  must  be  the  virtuous  and  the  wise. 
Bliss  is  ordain'd  for  all,  since  heav'n  intends 

All  beings  should  attain  their  destin'd  ends : 

For  this  the  fair  idea  shines  confess'd 

To  every  mind,  and  glows  in  every  breast. 

Compar'd  with  this,  all  mortal  joys  are  vain  : 

Inspir'd   by  this,  we  restless  onward  strain. 

High  though  we  mount,  the  object  mounts  more^high, 

Eludes  our  grasp,  and  mingles  with  the  sky. 

With  nothing  less  th'  aspiring  soul's  content, 

For  nothing  less  her  gen'rous  flame  was  meant  ; 

Th'  unerring  rule,  which  all  our  steps  should  guide, 

The  certain  test,  by  which  true  good  is  try'd. 

Blest  when  we  reach  it,  wretched  while  we  miss, 

Our  joys,  our  sorrows  prove,  there  must  be  bliss. 

Nor  can  this  be  some  visionary  dream, 

Where  heated  fancy  forms  the  flatt'ring  scheme. 

There  sure  is  bliss — else,  why  by  all  desir'd  ? 

What  guileful  pow'r  has  the  mad  search  inspir'd  ? 

Could  accident  produce  in  all  the  same, 

Or  a  vain  shadow  raise  a  real  flame  ? 

When  nature  in  the  world's  distended  space. 

Or  fill'd,  or  almost  fiU'd  each  smaller  place  ; 


i6o  MEMOIR    OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Careful  in  meanest  matter  to  produce 
Each  single  motion  for  some  certain  use  ; 
Hard  was  the  lot  of  her  first  fav'rite,  man, 
Faulty  the  scheme  of  his  contracted  span, 
If  that  alone  must  know  an  useless  void. 
And  he  feel  longings  ne'er  to  be  enjoy'd. 

That  can  only  produce  consummate  joy, 
Which  equals  all  the  pow'rs  it  would  employe 
Such   fitting  object  to  each  talent  giv'n, 
Earth  cannot  fit  what  was  design'd  for  heav'n. 
Why  then  is  man  with  gifts  sublimest  fraught, 
And  active  will,  and  comprehensive  thought  ? 
For  what  is  all  this  waste  of  mental  force  ? 
What  !   for  a  house,  a  coach,  a  dog,  a  horse  ? 
Has  nature's  Lord  invented  nature's  plan  ? 
Is  man  now  made  for  what  was  made  for  man  ? 

There  must  be  pleasures  past  the  reach  of  sense, 
Some  nobler  source  must  happiness  dispense  : 
Reason,  arise  !   and  vindicate  thy  claim. 
Flash  on  our  minds  the  joy-infusing  flame  ; 
Pour  forth  the  fount  of  light,  whose  endless  store 
Thought  drinks  insatiate,  while  it  thirsts  for  more, 
And  thou,  seraphic  flame  !   who  could'st  inspire 
The  prophet's  voice,  and  wrap  his  soul  in  fire  ; 
Ray  of  th'  eternal  beam  !   who  canst  pervade 
The  distant  past,  and  future's  gloomy  shade  : 
While  trembling  reason  tempts  heav'n's  dazzling  height. 
Sublime  her  force,  and  guide  her  dubious  flight ; 
Strengthen'd  by  thee,  she  bears  the  streaming  blaze, 
And  drinks  new  light  from  truth's  immortal  rays. 
Great,  only  evidence  of  things  divine  ! 
By  thee  reveal'd,  the  mystic  wonders  shine  ! 
What  puzzled  sophists  vainly  would  explore, 
What  humbled  pride  in  silence  must  adore. 
What  plainly  mark'd  in  heav'n's  deliver'd  page. 
Makes  the  taught  hind  more  wise  than  Greece's  sage. 
Yet  reason  proves  thee  in  her  low  degree. 
And  owns  thy  truths,  from  their  necessity. 

Conspicuous  now  is  happiness  display'd, 
Possessino;  him  for  whom  alone  we're  made. 
For  he  alone  all  human  bliss  compleats. 
To  him  alone  th'  expanding  bosom  beats ; 
Who  fills  each  faculty,  each  pow'r  can  move. 
Exerts  all  thought,  and  deep  absorbs  all  love  ; 


POEMS  i6i 

Whose  ceaseless  being  years  would  tell  in  vain, 

Whose  attributes  immense  all  bounds  disdain. 

No  sickly  taste  the  heav'nly  rapture  cloys, 

Nor  wearied  sense  sink  in  whelming  joys  ; 

While,  rais'd  above  low  matter's  grosser  frame, 

Pure  spirit  blazes  in  his  purer  flame. 

Such  are  th'  immortal  blessins^s  that  attend 

The  just  and  good,  the  patriot  and  the  friend. 

Nor  such  alone  in  distant  prospect  cheer, 

They  taste  heav'n's  joys  anticipated  here. 

These  in  the  smiling  cups  of  pleasure  flow. 

Or,  mingling,  sooth  the  bitter  stream  of  woe  ; 

These  pay  the  loss  of  honours,  and  of  place. 

And  teach  that  guilt  alone  is  true  disgrace  ; 

These  with  the  glorious  exile  cheerful  rove, 

And,  far  from  courts,  fresh  bloom  in  Curio's  grove. 

Long  may  such  bliss,  by  such  enjoy'd,  attest. 
The  greatly  virtuous  are  the  greatly  blest  ! . 
Enough  there  are  amidst  yon  gorgeous  train. 
Who,  wretched,  prove  all  other  joys  are  vain. 

So  shines  the  truth  these  humble  lines  unfold, 
"  Fair  virtue  ever  is  unwisely  sold." 
Too  mean  a  price  sublimest  fortune  brings. 
Too  mean  the  wealth,  the  smiles,  the  crowns  of  kings  : 
For  rais'd  o'er  these,  she  makes  our  bliss  secure. 
The  present  pleasing,  and  the   future  sure. 
While  prosp'rous  guilt  a  sad  reverse  appears, 
And  in  the  tasteless  now,  the  future  fears. 


AN    EPISTLE    TO   THE    RIGHT   HONOUR- 
ABLE THE  LORD  VISCOUNT  CORNBURY. 

By  ,  Esq. 

While  you,  my  Lord,  alas  !  amidst  a  few. 

With  generous  warmth  your  country's  good  pursue ; 

While  to  that  centre  all  your  wishes  tend. 

Accept  the  zeal  that  prompts  a  willing  friend. 
Others  like  you  heav'n's  hallow'd  spark  inspir'd 

Whom  soon  the  blaze  of  selfish  passion  fir'd 

M 


i62  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Soon   ruder  flames  extinguish'd   reason's  light, 
While  prejudice  foul'd  their  jaundic'd  sight. 

Such  through  false  optics  every  object  prove, 
And  try  the  good  and  bad,  by  hate  and  love. 
AU-pov^^erful  means  each  virtue  to  supply, 
All-powerful  means  each  virtue  to  deny  ; 
To  Wyndham  strength,  and  grace,  and  fire,  and  weight ; 
To  Granville    parts,  to  save  a  sinking  state. 
Hence  various  judgments  form  the  madden'd  throng, 
Onlv  in  this  alike,  they  all  are  wrong. 
Hence  to  false  praise  shall  blame  unjust  succeed, 
And  cherubs  fall,  and  gods  unpity'd  bleed. 

Would  you,  my  friend,  not  mix  the  purer  flame. 
Nor  loose  the  patriot  in  a  baser  name  ; 
Nor  factious  rage  mistake  for  public  zeal. 
Nor  private  int'rest  for  the  gen'ral  weal  ? 
By  truth's  sure  test  let  every  deed  be  try'd. 
And  justice  ever  be  th'  unerring  guide. 
Her  rules  are  plain,  and  easy  is  her  way, 
And  yet  how  hard  to  find  if  once  we  stray ! 
All  lost  alike  the  maze  perplex'd  we  tread, 
However  prompted,  whether  drove  or  led  ; 
Whether  false  honour  or  ambition  goad. 
Or  sneaking  av'rice  wind  the  miry  road, 
Or  whether  sway'd  by  passions  not  our  own, 
And  the  weak  fear  of  being  right  alone. 
Alone  in  such  a  cause  'tis  base  to  fear. 
Though  fools  suspect,  and  knaves  designing  sneer. 
Sneer,  villains,  sneer  !   th'  avenging  time  is  nigh. 
When  Balbo  scourg'd  shall  weep  the  taunting  lie  ; 
When  Stopus  foul  with  each  imputed  crime. 
Shall  dread  false  prose  repaid  with  honest  rhyme. 
'Tis  not  enough  you  scorn  a  private  claim, 
And  to  your  country's  good  direct  your  aim. 
Wrong  is  still  wrong,  however  great  the  end. 
Though  all  the  realm  were  brother,   father,  friend  ; 
Justice  regards  not  these — where  right  prevails, 
A  nation  is  an  atom  in   her  scales. 
Heaven  means  not  all  the  good  which  man  can  gain, 
But  that  which  truth  can  earn,  and  right  maintain. 
However  fair  the  tempting  prize  may  be. 
If  guilt  the  price,  it  is  not  meant  for  thee. 
Succeeding  times  may  claim  the  just  design. 
Or  other  means,  or  other  powers  than  thine. 


POEMS  163 

Each   part's  connected  with  the  gen'ral  plan, 
The  weal  of  Britain,  with  the  weal  of  man. 
Justice  the  scale  of  interest  for  the  whole. 
The  same  in  Indies  as  beneath  the  pole  ; 
Sure  rule  by  which  heav'n's  blessings  to  dispense, 
Unerring  light  of  guiding  providence. 
Others  mav  fail — If  wron2:ly  understood. 
How  fatal  is  the  thirst  of  public  good  ! 
No  heavier  curse  almighty  vengeance  brings. 
Nor  plagues,  nor  famine,  nor  the  lust  of  kings. 
Fir'd  bv  this  rage,  the  frantic  sons  of  Rome, 
The  sufF'ring  world  of  death  and  bondage  doom  ; 
Nations  must  sink  to  raise  her  cumb'rous  frame. 
And  millions  bleed  to  eternize  her  name. 
But  lo  !   her  glories  fade,  her  empire's  past, 
She  madly  conquer'd  but  to  fall  the  last. 

Nor  would  I  here  the  patriot's  views  reprove, 
Or  damp  the  sacred  flame  of  social  love. 
Still  may  that  portion  of  th'  eternal  ray 
Sublime  our  sense,  and  animate  our  clay  ; 
Above  low  self  exalt  th'  immortal  frame. 
And  emulate  that  heav'n  from  whence  it  came. 
Oh  !   would  it  never  be  confin'd  to  place. 
But  beam  extensive  as  the  human  race  : 
Be,  as  it  was  design'd,  the  world's  great  soul, 
Connect  its  parts,  and  actuate  the  whole. 
So  each  should  think  himself  a  part  alone. 
And  for  a  nation's  welfare  stake  his  own  ! 
Yet  farther  still,  though  dearest  to  the  breast. 
That  nation  think   but  part  of  all  the  rest. 

For  this  let  equal  justice  poise  the  ball, 
Her  swaying  force  unites  us  all  to  all ; 
Of  manners,  worship,  form,  no  diif'rence  knows, 
Condemns  our  friends,  and  saves  our  better  foes. 
Confess  the  heavenly  power  !    nor  need  you  fear 
Lest  Britain  suffer,  while  you  follow  her. 

Though  prosp'rous  crimes  some  daring  villains  raise, 
Nor  life's  short  date  my  halting  vengeance  seize  ; 
A  nation  cannot  'scape — the  destin'd  rage 
Pursues  her  ceaseless  to  some  future  age  ; 
Speeds  the  sure  ruin  from  the  Conqueror's  hand. 
Or  spreads  corruption  o'er  a  pining  land. 

Ask  hoary  Time,  what  nation  is  most  blest  ? 
For  sage  experience  shall  this  truth  attest : 


i64  MEMOIR    OF   EARL    NUGENT 

"  Where  freedom  sleeps  secure  from  lawless  wrath, 

"  Where  commerce  shelter'd  flows  through  public  faith, 

"  Where  fell  ambition  lights  no  foreign  wars, 

"  Nor  discord  rages  with  intestine  jars  ; 

"Where  justice  reigns." — Immortal  were  that  state. 

If  aught  immortal  here  were  giv'n  by  Fate. 

Such,  lost  Iberia  !    were  those  happy  reigns, 
When  liberty  sat  brooding  o'er  thy  plains. 
The  rich  in  plenteous  peace  their  stores  enjoy'd. 
By  cares  unvex'd,  by  luxury  uncloy'd, 
Hope  sooth'd  the  poor  with  promises  of  gain 
And  paid  with  future  joys  their  present  pain  ; 
Shew'd  the  full  bowl  amidst  their  sultry  toil. 
While  those  who  prun'd  the  olive  drank  the  oil  ; 
By  night  of  all  the  fruits  of  day  possest, 
Labour  soft-clos'd  the  eye,  and  sweeten'd  rest. 
Such  was  thy  state,  all  gay  in  nature's  smiles  ! 
And  such  is  now  the  state  of  Britain's  isles. 
Hence  o'er  the  ocean's  waste  her  sail  unfurl'd. 
Wide  wafts  the  tribute  of  a  willino;  world. 
Hence  trusting;  nations  treasure  here  their  wealth 
Safe  from  tyrannic  force  or  legal  stealth  : 
And  hence  the  injur'd  exile  doom'd  to  roam. 
Shall  find  his  country  here  and  dearer  home. 

Still  be  this  truth,  this  saving  truth  confest ; 
Britain  is  great,  because  with  freedom  blest ; 
Her  prince  is  great,  because  her  people  free. 
And  power  here  springs  from  public  liberty. 

Hail,  mighty  monarch  of  the  free  and  great  ! 
Firm  on  the  basis  of  a  prosp'rous  state. 
The  wealth,  the  strength  of  happy  millions  thine. 
United  rife,  united  shall  decline. 
For  time  will  come,  sad  period  of  the  brave. 
When  Britain's  humble  prince  shall  rule  the  slave  ; 
When  traffic  vile  shall  buy  our  ruin  and  their  own. 

But  long,  O  long  th'  inglorious  doom  suspend  ! 
What  virtue  gain'd  may  virtue  still  defend  ! 
Thrice  sacred  spirit,  never  may  you  cease. 
But  as  you  blaz'd  in  war,  shine  forth  in  peace  ! 
Dauntless  with  all  the  force  of  truth  engage 
The  headlong  tide  of  each  corrupted  age. 
O  ever  wake  around  one  favour'd  throne. 
Nor  let  our  guardian  monarch  wake  alone  ! 

Though  oft  defeated,  and  though  oft  betray'd. 


POEMS  165 

Numbers  shall  rise  in  sacred  freedom's  aid. 

Far  as  her  all-enlivening  influence  reigns, 

Heroic  ardour  beats  in  gen'rous  veins. 

Novi^  bids  learn'd  Greece  barbarian  mi2:ht  defv, 

Now^  the  soft  arts  of  polish'd  tyranny  ; 

Now  to  no  stock,  or  sect,  or  place  confin'd, 

She  takes  adopted  sons  from  human   kind; 

While  denizen'd  by  her  eternal  laws. 

They  are  all  Britons  who  shall  serve  her  cause. 

Lo  !    to  the  banner  crowds  a  youthful  band ; 
Form'd  for  the  glorious  task  by  nature's  hand; 
Wisdom  unclogg'd  by  years,  with  toil  unbought, 
A  zeal  by  vigour  kindled,  rul'd  by  thought. 
Such  gifts  she  to  the  happy  few  imparts, 
To  judging  heads  and  to  determin'd  hearts; 
To  heads  unfir'd  by  youth's  tumultuous  rage. 
To  hearts  unnumb'd  by  the  chill  ice  of  age; 
And  while  they   both  preserve  a  sep'rate  claim. 
Their  passions  reason,  and  their  reasons  flame. 

Proceed,  brave  youths  !      Let  others  court  renown 
In  hostile   fields,   be  yours  the  olive  crown : 
And  trust  to  fame,  those  heroes  brighter  shone 
Who  sav'd  a  nation,  than  who  nations  won. 
Now  let  assuming  age  restrain  your  flight. 
Fearful  to  tempt  the  yet  unpractis'd  height; 
Deceitful  counsel  lurks  in  hoary  hairs. 
And  the  last  dre2:s  of  life  are  sordid  cares. 

Objects  are  clear  proportion'd  in  degree. 
To  gen'ral  use,  or  strong  necessity. 
Nor  are  two  things  so  plainly  understood. 
As  the  worst  evil,  and  the  greatest  good ; 
If  rescu'd  from  the  misty  breath  of  schools. 
Men  will  but  feel  without  the  help  of  rules. 
So  unbewilder'd  in  the  crooked  maze. 
Where  guilt  low  skulks,  and  reptile  cunning  strays, 
A  nation's  interest,  and  a  people's  rights. 
Distinctly  shine  in  nature's  simple  lights. 
And  claim  in  him  who  fairly  acts  his  part, 
Before  a  Lonsdale's  head,  a  Lonsdale's  heart. 
But  chief  when  snatch'd  by  heaven's  preserving  hand, 
From  the  fell  contests  of  each  hostile  land, 
A  happy  island  to  th'  incircling  main 
Trusts  for  a  sure  support  and  honest  gain. 

The  just  are  heaven's,  earth  is  for  heaven  ordain'd, 


i66  MEMOIR   OF   EARL    NUGENT 

Form'd  by  its  laws,  and  by  its  laws  maintain'd. 

These  one  true  int'rest,  one  great  system  frame, 

Political  and  moral  are  the  same. 

Guilt  toils  for  gain  at  honour's  vast  expence, 

Heaven  throws  the  trifle  in  to  innocence; 

And  fixes  happiness  in  hell's  despite, 

The  necessary  consequence  of  right. 

Proceed,  ye  Deists  !    blindfold  rage  employ, 
And  prove  the  sacred  truths  you  would  destroy. 
Prove  Christian  faith  the  wisest  scheme  to  bind, 
In  chains  of  cordial  love,  our  jarring  kind ; 
And  thence  conclude  it  human,  if  you  can. 
The  perfect  produce  of  imperfect  man  ! 
While  prostrate  we  adore  that  power  divine, 
Whose  simple  rule  connects  each  great  design ; 
Bids  social  earth  a  type  of  heaven  appear. 
Where  justice  tastes  those  joys  which  wait  her  there. 

But  though  self-int'rest  follow  virtue's  train  ! 
Yet  selfish  think  not  virtue's  end  is  gain  ! 
Older  than  time,  ere  int'rest  had  a  name. 
Justice  existed,  and  is  still  the  same; 
Alike  the  creature's  and  creator's  guide. 
His  rule  to  form,  the  law  by  which  we're  ty'd: 
In  reason's  light,  eternal  word,  exprest, 
Stamp'd  with  his  image  in  the  creature's  breast. 

Thus  speaks  the  sage,  who  skill'd  in  nature's  laws, 
Deep  from  effects  high-trac'd  th'  all-ruling  cause. 
"  Before  creation  was,  th'  Almighty  Mind 
"In  time's  abyss  the  future  world  design'd; 
"  Did  the  great  system  in  its  parts  survey, 
"  And  fit  the  springs,  and  regulate  their  play ; 
"  In  meet  gradations  plann'd  th'  harmonious  round, 
"  These  links  by  which  depending  parts  are  bound. 
"  All  these  he  knew,  ere  yet  the  things  he  made, 
"  In  types  which  well  the  mimic  world  display'd. 
"  The  types  are  real,  since  from  them  he  drew 
"  The  real  forms  of  whatsoe'er  we  view. 
"  Made  to  their  'semblance,  heav'n  and  earth  exist, 
"  But  they  unmade  eternally  subsist. 
*'  For  if  created,  we  must  sure  suppose 
"  Some  other  types  whence  their  resemblance  flows ; 
"  While  these  on  others  equally  depend, 
"  Nor  ever  shall  the  long  progression  end. 
*'  God  ere  it  was,  the  future  being  saw. 


POEMS  167 

^'  Or  blindfold  made  his  world,  and  gave  his  law. 
"  But  chance  could  never  frame  the  vast  design, 
''Where  countless  parts  in  justest  order  join. 
"  The  types  eternal  just  proportions  teach, 
"  Greater  or  less,  more  or  less  perfect  each. 
"  These  ever  present  power  omniscient  sees, 
"On  them  he  forms  his  ever-made  decrees; 
"  Nor  can  he  better  love  what  merits  least, 
"  Man  than  an  angel,  or  than  man  a  beast. 
"  Hence  Reason,  hence  immortal  Order  springs, 
"  Knowledge  and  Love  adapted  to  the  things. 
"  And  thence  th'  unerring  rule  of  justice  flows, 
"  To  act  what  Order  prompts,  and  Reason  shows, 

"  When  man  in  nature's  purity  remain'd 
"  By  pain  untroubled,  and  by  sin  unstain'd  ; 
"  Fair  image  of  the  God,  and  close  conjoin'd, 
"By  innate  union  with  the  heav'nly  mind; 
"  In  the  pure  splendor  of  substantial  light, 
"The  beam  divine  of  Reason  bless'd  his  sight; 
"  Seraphic  order  in  its  fount  he  view'd, 
"Seeing  he  lov'd,  and  loving  he  pursu'd; 
"  Nor  dar'd  the  body,  passive  slave,  controul 
"  The  sov'rei^n  mandates  of  the  rulino;  soul. 
"  But  soon  by  sin  the  sacred  union  broke, 

Man  bows  to  earth  beneath  the  heavy  yoke. 
"  The  darkling  soul  scarce  feels  a  glimmVing  ray, 
"  Shrouded  in  sense  from  her  immortal  day. 
"Veno;eance  divine  offended  Order  arms, 
"  And  clothes  in  terrors  her  celestial  charms. 
"  Now  grosser  objects  heav'n-born  souls  possess, 
"  Passions  enslave,  and  servile  cares  oppress. 
"  Fraud,  rapine,  murder,  guilt's  long  horrid  train, 
"  Distracted  nature's  anarchy  maintain. 
"  No  more  pure  Reason  earthly  minds  can  move, 
"  No  more  can  Order's  charms  persuasive  prove. 
"  But  as  the  moon  reflecting  borrow'd  day, 
"Sheds  on  our  shadow'd  world  a  feeble  ray; 
"  Some  scatter'd  beams  of  Reason  law  contains, 
"While  Order's  rule  must  be  enforc'd  by  pains. 
"Hence  death's  black  scroll,  dire  tortures  hence  are  giv'n; 
"  Hence  kings,  the  necessary  curse  of  heav'n. 
"And  just  the  doom  of  an  avenging  God, 
"Who  spurn'd  his  sceptre,  feel  the  tyrant's  rod. 
■*'  Blind  by  our  fears  we  meet  the  ills  we  fly, 


Xi 


i68  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

"  In  rule  oppression,  want  in  property." 

So  spoke  the  sage,  and  if  not  learn'd  in  vain, 
If  spotless  truth   in  sacred  books  remain; 
Dearly  the  child  hath  paid  the  parent's  pride. 
And  ill  hath  Law  the  heavenly  rule  supply'd. 
Thus  boasts  some  leech  with  unavailino;  art. 
To  mend  the  tainted  lun2;s  and  wastins;  heart : 
Bids  the  loose  springs  with  wonted  vigour  play. 
And  sprightly  juices  warm  in  cold  decay. 

Or  would  imperious  reason  deign  to  own. 
The  world  not  made  for  sovereign  man  alone; 
Some  things  there  are  for  human  use  design'd. 
And  these  in  common  dealt  to  human  kind. 
To  mortal  wants  is  given  a  power  to  use, 
What  to  th'  immortal  part  just  heav'n  might  well  refuse. 
This  faithful  instinct  in  each  breast  implants. 
All  know  their  rights,  for  all  must  feel  their  wants. 

But  soon  began  the  rage  of  wild  desire. 
To  thirst  for  more  than  use  could  e'er  require. 
Ere  stung  by  luxury's  unfated  call. 
And  ere  ambition   madly  grasp'd  the  ball  ; 
Vain  restless  man  in  busy  search  employ'd. 
Saw  somewhat  still  beyond  the  bliss  enjoy'd, 
Press'd  eager  on  ;    the  lowly  and  the  great. 
Alike  their  wish  bevond  their  destin'd  state  ; 
Alike  condemn'd,  whatever  Fortune  grant. 
To  real  poorness  in  phantastic  want. 

And  now  some  sages  high  by  others  deem'd. 
For  virtue  honour'd  and  for  parts  esteem'd  ; 
Call'd  forth  to  judge  where  dubious  claims  are  try'd,, 
Convince  with  reason  and  with  counsel  guide  ; 
Fix'd  rules  devise  to  sway  th'  assenting  throng. 
And  marks  distinct  impress  on  right  and  wrong. 
The  simple  precept  subtle  wiles  evade, 
•         And  statutes  as  our  crimes  increased  were  made. 
These  were  at  first  unwritten,  plain  and  few, 
'Till  swell'd   by  time  the  law's  vast  volume  grew  ; 
And  grown  with  these,  to  sway  th'  unwieldy  trust,. 
Thousands  we  chose  to  keep  the  millions  just. 
Some  plac'd  o'er  others,  others  plac'd  o'er  these, 
Thus  government  grew  up  by  slow  degrees  ; 
Higher  the  pile  arose,  and  still  more  high. 
When  lo  !   the  summit  ends  in  monarchy. 
There  plac'd,  a  man  in  gorgeous  pomp  appears,, 


POEMS  169 

And  far  o'er  earth  his  tow'ring  aspect  rears  ; 
While  prostrate  crowds  his  sacred  smiles  implore, 
And  what  their  crimes  had  form'd,  their  fears  adore. 
Low  from  beneath  thev  lift  their  servdie  eyes, 
And  see  the  proud  colossus  touch  the  skies. 

So  at  some  mountain's  foot  have  children  gaz'd, 
While  close  to  heaven  thev  view  the  summit  rais'd. 
Eager  thev  mount,  new  regions  to  explore. 
But  heav'n  is  now  as  distant  as  before. 
Thus  views  the  crowd  a  throne,  while  those  who  rise 
Claim  not  a  nearer  kindred  to  the  skies  ; 
Earth  is  their  parent,  thither  kings  should  bend. 
From  thence  thev  rise,  and  not  from  heaven  descend. 
Happy,  had  all  the   royal  sons  of  earth 
Thus  sprung,  nor  guilt  had  claim'd  the  monstrous  birth. 
Where  from  the  fire  descending  through  the  line. 
Rapine  and  fraud  confer  a  right  divine. 

Ye  mortal  gods,  how  vainlv  are  ye  proud  ? 
If  just  your  title,  servants  to  the  crowd  ; 
If  wide  vour  swav,  if  larae  vour  treasur'd  store, 
These  but  increase  your  servitude  the  more  ; 
A  part  is  onlv  yours,  the  rest  is  theirs. 
And  nothing  all  your  own,  except  your  cares. 
Shall  man,  by  nature  free,  by  nature  made 
To  share  the  feast  her  bounteous  hand  display'd. 
Transfer  these  rights  ?   as  well  he  may  dispense 
The  beam  of  reason,  or  the  nerve  of  sense; 
With  all  his  strength  the  monarch's  limbs  invest. 
Or  pour  his  valour  in  the  royal  breast. 

Take  the  stan^'d  peasant's  taste,  devouring  lord  ! 
Ere  you  deprive  him  of  the  genial  board. 
And  if  you  would  his  liberty  controul. 
Assume  the  various  actings  of  his  soul  ! 
So  shall  one  man  a  people's  powers  enjoy. 
Thus  Indians  deem  of  wretches  they  destroy. 
Thus  in  old  tales  the  fabled  monster  stands. 
Proud  of  a  thousand  eyes,  a  thousand  hands. 
Thus  dreams  the  sophist,  who  with  subtle  art. 
Would  prove  the  whole  included  in  a  part, 
A  people  in  their  king  ;    and  from  the  throng. 
Transfer  to  him  their  rights  in  nature's  wrong; 
Those  sacred  rights  in  nature's  charter  plain, 
By  wants  that  claim  them,  and  by  powers  that  gam. 

Though  sophists  err,  yet  stand  confess'd  thy  claim. 


170  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

And  be  the  king  and  multitude  the  dame, 
Whose  deeds  benevolent  his  title  prove, 
And  roval  selfishness,  in  public  love  ; 
Nor,  draining  v^asted  realms  for  sordid  pelf, 
O  scepter'd  suicided  !    destroy  thy  self. 

Where  fails  this  proof,  in  vain  w^ould  we  unite 
The  ruler's  int'rest  with  the  people's  right. 
Frantic  ambition  has  her  sep'rate  claim. 
The  dropsv'd  thirst  of  empire,  wealth,  or  fame  ; 
Pride's  boundless  hope,  valour's  enthusiast  rant. 
With  the  Ions  nameless  train  of  fancy'd  want. 
Urg'd  on  bv  these,  all  view  the  magic  prize. 
The  prospect  widening  as  they  higher  rise  ; 
From  him  who  seeks  a  limited  command. 
To  him  whose  wish  devours  air,  sea,  and  land. 
Alike  all  foes  to  freedom's  holv  cause. 
For  freedom  ties  unbounded  will  with  laws. 
Alike  all  foes  to  every  public  gain. 
For  public  blessings  loose  the  bond-man's  chain. 

Ill-fated  slaves  of  arbitrary  sway  ! 
Where  trusted  power  seduces  to  betray  ; 
Makes  private  failings  rage  a  gen'ral  pest. 
And  taints  even  virtue  in  the  social  breast ; 
Bids  friendship  plunder,  charity  undo 
The  blameless  many,  for  the  favour'd  few. 
'Till  guilt  high  rear'd  on  crimes  protecting  crime. 
Fills  the  heap'd  measure  of  predestin'd  time. 

Far  others,  ye,  O  wealthy,  wise,  and  brave  ! 
Though  subject,  free  ;  more  freedom  would  enslave. 
Bless'd  with  a  rule  by  long  experience  try'd, 
Unwarp'd   by  faction's  rage,  or  kingly  pride  ; 
Bless'd  with  the  means,  when'er  this  rule  shall  bend. 
Again  to  trace  it  to  its  glorious  end  ; 
And  bless'd  with  proofs,  the  proofs  are  seal'd  with  blood, 
What'er  the  form  the  end  is  public  good. 

But  yet  admit  the  sire  his  right  fore-goes  ! 
Can  he  his  children's  sep'rate  claim  dispose  .? 
What'er  the  parent  gave,  what'er  he  give. 
They  who  have  right  to  life,  have  right  to  live. 
And  spite  of  man's  consent,  or  man's  decree, 
A  right  to  life,  is  right  to  liberty. 

Though  for  convenience  fram'd  the  laws  should  shine, 
Pure  emanation  from  the  source  divine  ; 
Such  as  can  pierce  the  gloom  of  pagan  night. 


POEMS  171 

And  untau2:ht  sava2:es  in  woods  enHa;ht  : 

Such  as  on  scaffolds  can  the  guiltless  save, 

And  torture  on  his  throne  the  scepter'd  slave; 

Such  as  th'  offending  wretch  reluctant  owns, 

And  hails  its  beauty  with  his  dying  groans  : 

In  such  fair  laws  the  will  of  heav'n  impress'd, 

Shines  to  all  eyes,  and  rules  the  conscious  breast. 

Though  tortures  cease,  though  night's  thick-mantling  vail 

From  mortal  ken  the  secret  deed  conceal  ; 

Reason  and  conscience  shall  awake  within, 

And  light  the  shade,  and  loud  proclaim  the  sin. 

"  But  should  the  universal  voice  combine, 
"To  cloath  injustice  in  a  robe  divine  ?  " 
Let  the  same  breath  divest  the  dav  of  light, 
To  blazon  forth  the  dusky  face  of  night. 
Then  shall  the  laws  of  sainted  evil  bind. 
And  human  will  subvert  th'  all-ruling  mind  : 
That  sacred  fount  whence  lawful  rule  must  spring, 
And  diff'rent  from  the  robber  marks  the  kina;. 

Yet  vainly  would  despotic  will  conclude, 
That  force  may  swav  the  erring  multitude, 
Justice,  'tis  own'd,  should  ever  guide  the  free, 
But  pow'r  of  wrong,  in  all,  is  liberty  ; 
And  for  whatever  purposes  restrain'd, 
A  nation  is  enslaved  that  may  be  chain'd. 
Heaven  gives  to  all  a  liberty  of  choice, 
A  people's  good  requires  a  people's  voice  ; 
Man's  surest  guide,  where  diff'rent  views  agree, 
From  private  hate,  and  private  int'rest  free. 
Fatal  their  chan2;e  from  such  who  rashlv  fly, 
To  the  hard  grasp  of  guiding  tyranny  ; 
Soon  shall  thev   find,  when  will  is  arm'd  with  might, 
Injustice  wield  the  sword,  though  drawn  for  right. 

Blind  to  these  truths  who  fond  of  boundless  sway. 
Bids  trembling  slaves  implicitly  obey  ; 
Though  by  a  long  descent  from  Adam  down 
Through  scepter'd  heirs,  he  boasts  his  ancient  crown. 
Great  nature's  rebel  forfeits  every  claim, 
And  loads  the  tyrant  with  th'  usurper's  name  ; 
While  with  each  lawless  act  of  proud  command. 
He  stands  proscrib'd  by  his  own  guilty  hand. 

Bow,  Filmer,  bow  !   to  hell's  tremendous  throne, 
And  bid  thy  fellow-damn'd  suppress  each  groan  ! 
There  sits  a  king  whom  pow'r  divine  hath  giv'n, 


172 


MEMOIR    OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Nor  earth  boasts  one  so  surely  sent  from  heav'n. 

And  thou,  blest  martyr  in  fair  freedom's  cause, 

Thou  great  asserter  of  thy  country's  laws  ; 

Vainly  oppression  stopp'd  thy  potent  breath  ; 

Truth  shone  more  powerful  through  the  vail  of  death  ; 

Example  mov'd  whom  precept  could  not  save, 

And  lifted  axes  wak'd  each   drowsy  slave. 

Yet  magistrates  must  rule,  they're  useful  things, 
Our  guilt  the  vengeance,  and  avenger  brings. 
Whate'er  more  perfect  heav'n  might  first  create, 
A  state  well  govern'd,  now,  is  nature's  state  ; 
For  law  from  reason  springs,  spontaneous  fruit, 
And  reason  sure  is  man's  first  attribute. 
Let  visionary  schoolmen  toil  in  vain, 
Who  seek  in  anarchy  for  nature's  reign  ; 
Wretched  alike  the  slaves  of  lawless  will. 
Whether  the  savage,  or  the  tyrant  kill ; 
Unjust  alike  all  rule,  where  public  choice 
Speaks  not  through  laws  a  willing  people's  voice. 
Nor  freedom  suffers  when  the  guilty  fall, 
'Tis  nature's  doom,  'tis  self-defence  in  all. 

Such  now  is  man  deprav'd  that  fear  must  sway, 
To  tread  the  paths  where  duty  points  the  way  ; 
The  wretch  must  suffer  to  forewarn  the  rest. 
And  some  must  fall  to  stop  the  spreading  pest. 
Alone  the  gen'ral  welfare  can  demand 
The  bleeding  victim  from  th'  unwilling  hand. 

Hence  public  pains — what  to  the  crime  is  due, 
O  Judge  supreme  !   must  be  reserv'd  for  you. 
To  you  alone,  whose  all-pervading  eye 
Deep  in  the  breast  can  latent  thought  espy  ; 
Try  every  action  by  the  known  intent. 
And  to  each  crime  adapt  its  punishment  ; 
While  men,  misled  by  erring  lights,  dispense 
The  doom  of  guilt  to  injur'd  innocence  ; 
Or  though  repentance  cleanse  the  moral  stain. 
Inflict  on  crimes  aton'd  avenging  pain. 
Yet  blameless  they  who  act  sincere  their  part. 
Faultless  he  errs  who  cannot  read  the  heart. 

Not  such   fierce  flames  the  mad  enthusiast's  zeal. 
On  errors  harmless  to  the  gen'ral  weal. 
Whether  false  notions  wander  far  from  truth. 
Or  age  retain  the  trace  impress'd  in  youth. 
While  int'rest  prompts  the  holy  murd'rer's  hand. 


POEMS  173 

In  sacred  fires  to  light  th'  unhallow'd  brand  ; 
To  draw  destruction  from  heaven's  saving  page, 
And  bid  sweet  mercv  breathe  relentless  ra2;e. 

AccursM  all  such  !   and  he  with  joy  elate, 
Whose  baleful  breath  embitters  certain  fate  ; 
Who  on  th'  imploring  face  malignant  smiles, 
And  sentenced  wretches  wantonly  reviles. 
Better,  far  better  in  the  savage  den. 
Let  the  robb'd  lion  judge  o'er  prostrate  men  : 
Better  let  pow'r  the  lawless  faulchion  draw, 
Than  coward  cruelty  disgrace  the  law. 

This  well  you  know,   O !   whose  righteous  feat 

Gives  to  the  innocent  a  sure  retreat  \ 

Severely  just,  and  piously  humane. 

The  wretch  you  punish,  while  you  share  his  pain. 

Tears  with  the  dreadful  words  of  sentence  flow. 

Nor  does  the  rigid  judge  the  man  forego. 

So  feels  the  breast  humane,  ye  truly  brave  ! 
And  such  is  thine,  my  friend,  intent  to  save  ! 
Whether  thy  bounty  pining  want  relieve, 
Or  lenient  pity  sooth  the  hearts  that  grieve  ; 
Whether  thy  pious  hand  due  bounds  prescribe 
To  little  tyrants,  o'er  the  lesser  tribe  ; 
Or  whether  nobler  warmth  expand  thy  soul. 
And  huge  leviathan  unaw'd  controul. 

Nor  Britain  only  claims  thy  gen'rous  plan, 
Thy  rule  is  justice,  and  thy  care  is  man. 
And  may  this  truth  thy  fair  example  prove. 
Justice  shall  fan  the  flame  of  social  love. 


AN    EPISTLE    TO   A    LADY. 

By   the   same. 

Clarinda,  dearly  lov'd,  attend 

The  counsels  of  a  faithful  friend; 
Who  with  the  warmest  wishes  fraught, 
Feels  all,  at  least,  that  friendship  ought. 
But  since  by  ruling  heav'n's  design. 
Another's  fate  shall  influence  thine  ; 


174  MEMOIR    OF   EARL    NUGENT 

O  !   may  these  lines  for  him  prepare 
A  bliss,  which   I  would  die  to  share  ! 

Man  may  for  wealth  or  glory  roam, 
But  woman  must  be  blest  at  home  ; 
To  this  should  all  her  studies  tend. 
This  her  great  object  and  her  end. 
Distaste  unmingled   pleasures   bring. 
And  use  can  blunt  affliction's  sting  ; 
Hence  perfect  bliss  no  mortals  know. 
And  few  are  plung'd  in  utter  woe  ; 
While  nature  arm'd  against  despair. 
Gives  pow'r  to  mend,  or  strength  to  bear  ; 
And  half  the  thought  content  may  gain, 
Which  spleen  employs  to  purchase  pain. 

Trace  not  the  fair  domestic  plan. 
From  what  you  would,  but  what  you  can  ! 
Nor,  peevish,  spurn  the  scanty  store, 
Because  you  think  you  merit  more  ! 
Bliss  ever  differs  in  degree. 
Thy  share  alone  is  meant  for  thee  ; 
And  thou  should'st  think,  however  small. 
That  share  enough,  for  'tis  thy  all  ; 
Vain  scorn  will  aggravate  distress. 
And  only  make  that  little  less. 

Admit  whatever  trifles  come. 
Units  compose  the  largest  sum  : 
O  !   tell  them  o'er,  and  say  how  vain 
Are  those  which  form  ambition's  train  : 
Which  dwell  the  monarch's  gorgeous  state. 
And  bribe  to  ill  the  guilty  Great  ! 
But  thou  more  blest,  more  wise  than  these^ 
Shalt  build  up  happiness  on  ease. 

Hail  sweet  Content !   where  joy  serene 
Gilds  the  mild  soul's  unruffled  scene  ; 
And  with  blith  fancy's  pencil  wrought. 
Spreads  the  white  web  of  flowing  thought  ; 
Shines  lovely  in  the  cheerful  face. 
And  cloaths  each  charm  with  native  grace  j 
Effusion  pure  of  bliss  sincere, 
A  vestment  for  a  god  to  wear. 

Far  other  ornaments  compose 
The  garb  that  shrouds  dissembled  woes, 
Piec'd  out  with  motlev  dies  and  sorts, 
Freaks,  whimsies,  festivals  and  sports  ; 


POEMS  175 

The  troubled  mind's  fantastic  dress, 
Which  madness  titles  happiness. 
While  the  sav  wretch  to  revels  bears 
The  pale  remains  of  sighs  and  tears  : 
And  seeks  in  crowds,  like  her  undone. 
What  onlv  can  be  found  in  one. 

But,  chief,  mv  gentle  friend  !   remove 
Far  from  thv  couch  seducing  love  ! 
O  !   shun  the  false  magician's  art. 
Nor  trust  thv  yet  unguarded  heart  ! 
Charm'd  bv  his  spells  fair  honour  flies. 
And  thousand  treach'rous  phantoms  rise. 
Where  guilt  in  beauty's  ray  beguiles, 
And  ruin  lurks  in  friendship's  smiles. 
Lo  !   where  th'  enchanted  captive  dreams 
Of  warbling  groves,  and  purling  streams  ; 
Of  painted  meads,  of  flowers  that  shed 
Their  odours  round  her  fragrant  bed. 
Quick  shifts  the  scene,  the  charm  is   lost, 
She  wakes  upon  a  desert  coast  ! 
No  friendlv  hand  to  lend  its  aid. 
No  guardian  bow'r  to  spread  its  shade; 
Expos'd  to  every  chilling  blast. 
She  treads  th'  inhospitable  waste; 
And  down  the  drear  decline  of  life. 
Sinks  a  forlorn,  dishonour'd  wife. 

Neglect  not  thou  the  voice  of  Fame, 
But  clear  from  crime,  be  free  from   blame  I 
Though  all  were  innocence  within, 
'Tis  euilt  to  wear  the   sarb  of  sin. 
Virtue  rejects  the  foul  disguise: 
None  merit  praise  who  praise  despise. 

Slight  not,   in  supercilious  strain. 
Long  practis'd  modes,  as  low  or  vain  ! 
The  world  will  vindicate  their  cause. 
And  claim  blind  faith  in  custom's  laws. 
Safer  with  multitudes  to  strav. 
Than  tread  alone  a  fairer  way; 
To  min2;le  with  the  errins:  throns;. 
Than   boldly  speak  ten  millions  wrong. 

Beware  of  the  relentless  train, 
Who  forms  adore,  whom  forms  maintain  1 
Lest  prudes  demure,  or  coxcombs  loud, 
Accuse  thee  to  the  partial  crowd; 


176  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Foes  who  the  laws  of  honour  slight, 
A  judge  who  measures  guilt  by  spite. 

Behold  the  sage  Aurelia  stand, 
Discrace  and  fame  at  her  command  ! 
As  if  heaven's  delegate   design  d, 
Sole  arbiter  of  all  her  kind. 
Whether  she  try  some  favour'd  piece. 
By  rules  devis'd  in  ancient  Greece; 
Or  whether  modern  in   her  flight, 
She  tells  what  Paris  thinks  polite. 
For  much  her  talents  to  advance, 
She  study'd   Greece,  and  travell'd    France. 
There  learn'd  the  happy  art  to  please. 
With  all  the  charms  of  labour'd  ease; 
Through  looks  and  nods  with   meaning  fraught, 
To  teach  what  she  was  never  taught. 

By  her  each  latent  spring  is  seen. 
The  workings  soul  of  secret  spleen ; 
The  guilt  that  sculks  in  fair  pretence. 
Or  folly  veil'd  in  specious  sense. 
And  much  her  righteous  spirit  grieves. 
When  worthlessness  the  world  deceives; 
Whether  the  errins;  crowd  commends 
Some  patriot  sway'd  by  private  ends; 
Or  husband  trust  a  faithless  wife. 
Secure  in  i2;norance  from  strife. 
Averse  she  brings  their  deeds  to  view. 
But  justice  claims  the  rig'rous  due; 
Humanely  anxious  to  produce 
At  least  some  possible  excuse. 
O  ne'er  may  virtue's  dire    disgrace 
Prepare  a  triumph  for  the  base  ! 

Mere  forms  the  fool  implicit    sway. 
Which  witlings  with  contempt  survey. 
Blind  folly  no  defect  can   see. 
Half  wisdom  views  but  one  degree; 
The  wife  remoter  uses    reach. 
Which  judgment  and  experience  teach. 

Whoever  would  be  pleas'd  and  please. 
Must  do  what  others  do  with  ease. 
Great  precept  undefin'd  by  rule. 
And  only  learn'd  in  custom's  school; 
To  no  peculiar  form  confin'd, 
It  spreads  through  all  the  human  kind; 


POEMS 

Beauty  and  wit  and  worth  supplies, 
Yet  2;raceful  in  the  2;ood  and  wise. 
Rich  with  this  sift  and  none    beside. 
In  fashion's  stream  how  many  glide  ? 
Secure  from  every  mental  woe, 
From  treach'rous  friend  or  open  foe; 
From  social  svmpathv  that  shares 
The  public  loss  or  private  cares; 
Whether  the  barb'rous  foe  invade, 
Or  merit  pine  in  fortune's  shade. 

Hence  gentle  Anna  ever    gav. 
The  same  to-morrow  as  to-dav. 
Save  where  perchance,  when  others  weep, 
Her  cheek  the  decent  sorrow  steep; 
Save  when  perhaps  a  melting  tale, 
O'er  every  tender  breast  prevail. 
The  good,  the  bad,  the  great,  the  small. 
She  likes,  she  loves,  she  honours  all. 
And  yet  if  sland'rous  malice  blame. 
Patient  she  yields  a  sister's  fame. 
Alike  if  satire  or  if  praise. 
She  says  whate'er  the  circle  says; 
Implicit  does  whate'er   we  do. 
Without  one  point  or  wish  in  view. 
Sure  test  of  others,  faithful  glass 
Through  which  the  various  phantoms  pass. 
Wide  blank,  unfeeling  when  alone, 
No  care,  no  joy,  no  thought  her    own. 

Not  thus  succeeds  the  peerless  dame, 
Who  looks,  and  talks,  and  acts  for  fame; 
Intent,  so  wide  her  cares  extend. 
To  make  the  universe  her  friend. 
Now  with  the  2;av  in  frolic  shines. 
Now  reasons  deep  with  deep  divines. 
With  courtiers  now  extols  the  great. 
With   patriots  sighs  o'er  Britain's  fate. 
Now  breathes  with  zealots  holv  fires, 
Now  melts  in  less  refin'd  desires. 
Doom'd  to  exceed  in  each  degree. 
Too  wise,  too  weak,  too  proud,  too    free, 
Too  various  for  one  single  word, 
The  high  sublime  of  deep  absurd. 
While  every  talent  nature  grants. 
Just  serves  to  shew  how  much  she  wants. 

N 


177 


178  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Althou2:h    in  combine 

The  virtues  of  our  sex  and  thine: 

Her  hand  restrains  the  widow's  tears, 

Her  sense  informs,  and  sooths  and  cheers; 

Yet  like  an  angel  in  disguise, 

She  shines  but  to  some  favoured  eyes; 

Nor  is  the  distant  herd  allow'd 

To  view  the  radiance  through  the  cloud. 

But  thine  is  every  winning  art. 
Thine  is  the  friendly  honest  heart : 
And  should  the  gen'rous  spirit  flow, 
Beyond  where    prudence  fears  to  go; 
Such  sallies  are  of  nobler  kind. 
Than  virtues  of  a  narrow  mind. 


AN    ODE 

TO  THE  RIGHT  HONOURABLE  THE  LORD  LONSDALE. 

By  THE   SAME. 

1. 

Lonsdale  !  thou  ever-honour'd  name. 
For  such  is  sacred  virtue's  claim. 

Say,  why  !    my  noble  friend  ! 
While  nature  sheds  her  balmy  powers 
O'er  hill  and  dale,  in  leaves  and  flowers. 

Say,  why  my  joys  suspend ! 

II. 

Here  spreads  the  lawn  high-crown'd  with  wood, 
Here  slopes   the  vale,  there  winds   the    flood 

In  many  a  crystal  maze. 
The  fishes  sport,  in  silver  pride 
Slow  moves  the  swan,  on   either  side 

The  herds  promiscuous  graze. 


POEMS  179 

III. 

Or  if  the  stiller  shade  you  love, 

Here  solemn    nods   th'  imbow'ring   grove 

O'er  innocence  and  ease  ; 
Whether  with  deep  reflection  fraught, 
Or  in  the  sprightly  stream  of  thought, 

The  lighter  trifles  please. 

IV. 

And  should   the   shaft   of  treacherous   spleen^ 
Glance  venom'd  through  this  peaceful   scene, 

Unheeded  may  it  fly. 
Provok'd,  nor  tempted   to  repay. 
Though  truth  severer  prompt  the  lay, 

A  mean   prosaic  lie. 

V. 

Here  with  the  pheasant  and  the  hare, 
Unfearful  of  the  human  snare, 

Have  statesmen  pass'd  a  day. 
While  far  from  yon  forbidden  gate. 
Pale  care  and  lank  remorse  await 

Their  slow-returning  prey. 

VI. 

O  !    blind  to  all  the  joys  of  life, 
Who  seek  them  in  the  storm  of  strife, 

Destroying,  or  destroy'd. 
Less  wretched  thev,  and  yet  unbless'd, 
Who  batten  in  lethargic  rest, 

On  blessings  unenjoy'd. 

VII. 

But  come,  my  friend,  the  fun   invites. 
For  thee  the  town  hath  no  delights, 

Distasted  and  aggriev'd  ; 
While   fools   believe,   while   villains   cheat. 
Too  honest  to  approve  deceit. 

Too  wise  to  be  deceiv'd. 

^  Alluding  to  a  certain  scandalous  libel. 


i8o  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

VIII. 

Or  dost  thou  fear  lest  dire  disease 
Again  thy  tortur'd  frame  may  seize  ; 

And  hast  thou  therefore  stay'd  ? 
O  !    rather  haste,  where  thou  shalt  find 
A  ready  hand,  a  gentle  mind. 

To  comfort  and  to  aid. 


IX. 

And  while  by  sore  afflictions  try'd. 
You  bear  without  the  Stoic's  pride. 

What  Stoic  never  bore  j 
O  !     may  I  learn  like  thee  to  bear. 
And  what  shall  be  my  destin'd  share, 

To  suffer,  not  explore. 


AN    ODE. 

By   the   same. 
I. 


Too  anxious  for  the  public  weal, 

A  while  suspend  the  toilsome  strife  ! 

O  think  if  Britain   claims  thy  zeal. 

Thy  friends  and  Britain  claim  thy  life  ! 


II. 


Thy  gen'rous,  free,  and  active  soul, 
Inspir'd  by  glory's  sacred  flame. 

Springs  ardent  to  the  distant  goal. 

And  strains  the  weaker  mortal  frame. 


III. 


Happy  whom  reason  deigns  to  guide, 
Secure  within  the  golden  mean. 

Who  shuns  the  Stoic's  senseless  pride, 
Nor  wallows  with  the  herd  obscene. 


POEMS  i8i 


IV. 


He  nor  with  brow  severely  bent, 

Chides  pleasure's  smiling  train  away  ; 

Nor  careless  of  life's  great  intent, 
With  folly  wastes  each  heedless  day. 


V. 


But  from  the  mountain's  loftv  height, 
Now  nature's  mightv  frame  surv^eys: 

And  now  descending  with  delight, 
Alons  the  humble  vallev  stravs. 


VI. 


So  have  I  seen  thee  gain  applause, 

Though  faction  rag'd,  from  Britain's  peers; 

Then  glorious  in  thy  countrv's  cause, 
Go  whisper  love  in  Chloe's  ears. 


AN    ODE. 

By  the   same, 


I. 


On  Stow,  the  Muse's  happv  theme, 
Let  fancy's  eye  enamour'd  gaze; 

Where  through  one  nobly  simple  scheme, 
Ten  thousand  varying  beauties  please. 

There  patriot-virtue  rears  her  shrine, 

Nor  love !    art  thou  depriv'd  of  thine. 

II. 

Mark  where  from  Pope's  exhaustless  vein, 
Pure  flows  the  stream  of  copious  thought. 

While  nature  pours  the  genial  strain. 
With  fairest  springs  of  learning  fraught; 

The  treasures  of  each  clime  and  age, 

Grace  and  enrich  his  sacred  page. 


i82  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

III. 

So  while  through  Britain's  fields  her  Thames 

Prolific  rolls  his  silver  tide; 
The  tribute  of  a  thousand  streams 

Swells  the  majestic  river's  pride; 
And  where  his  gen'rous  current  strays, 
The  wealth  of  either  world  conveys. 

IV. 

Far  other  is  that  wretch's  song, 
Whose  scanty  rill  devoid  of  force, 

With  idle  tinklings  creeps  along, 
A  narrow,  crooked,  dubious  course : 

Or  foul  with  congregated  floods. 

Spreads  a  wide  waste  o'er  plains  and  woods. 

V. 

In  action  thus  the  mind  express'd 

High  soars  in  Pope  the  true  sublime: 

A  Stow  unfolds  a  Cobham's  breast, 
A  Bavius  crawls  in  doggrel  rhyme. 

Through  all  their  various  works  we  trace 

The  greatly  virtuous,  and  the  base. 


AN    ODE. 

By  the   same. 

Gentle,  idle,  trifling  boy. 
Sing  of  pleasures,  sing  of  joy  ! 
Well  you  paint  the  crystal  spring, 
Well  the  flow'ry  meadow  sing. 
But  beware  with  bolder  flight. 
Tempt  not  heaven's  unequal  height. 
But  beware  !    with  impious  strain, 
Mock  not  freedom's  hallow'd  train  ! 
Sacred,  here,  O  !    ever  be 
Heaven,  and  heaven-born  liberty  ! 


POEMS  183 


Let  the  slaves  of  lawless  sway, 
Let  the  stupid  flock  obey  ! 
Pent  within  a  narrow  fold, 
Tv'd,  and  stript,  and  slain,  and  sold. 
Happier  stars  the  brave  befriend, 
Britons  know  a  nobler  end. 
Theirs  it  is  to  temper  laws, 
Theirs  to  watch  in  freedom's  cause. 
Theirs  one  common  good  to  share, 
Theirs  to  feel  one  common  care  ; 
In  the  glorious  task  combined, 
From  the  monarch  to  the  hind. 

Yet  O  !    cease  not,  gentle  boy  ! 
Sing  of  pleasures,  sing  of  joy  ! 
Like  thy  brothers  of  the  wing. 
Idly  hop,  and  chirp,  and  sing. 
Heaven  can  nothing  vain  produce, 
Ev'ry  creature  has  its  use. 
Thine  it  is  to  sooth  our  toil. 
Thine  to  make  e'en  wisdom  smile. 
Much  they  err  who  such  despise, 
Trifles  please  the  truly  wise. 


VERSES   TO   CAMILLA. 

By  the   same. 

Weary'd  with  indolent  repose, 

A  life  unmix'd  with  joys  or  woes; 
Where  all  the  lazy  moments  crept, 
And  every  passion  sluggish  slept ; 
I  wish'd  for  love's  inspiring  pains. 
To  rouze  the  loiterer  in  my  veins. 
Th'  officious  power  my  call  attends. 
He  who  uncall'd  his  succour  lends; 
And  with  a  smile  of  wanton  spite. 
He  gave  Camilla  to  my  sight. 
Her  eyes  their  willing  captive  seize. 
Her  look,  her  air,  her  manner  please ; 
New  beauties  please,  unseen  before. 
Or  seen,  in  her  they  please  me  more ; 


i84  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

And  soon,  too  soon,  alas!  I   find 
The  virtues  of  a  nobler  kind. 

Now  cheerful  springs  the  morning  ray,. 
Now  cheerful  sinks  the  closing  day; 
For  every  morn  with  her  I  walk'd. 
And  every  eve  with  her  I  talk'd ; 
With  her  I  lik'd  the  vernal  bloom. 
With  her  I  lik'd  the  crowded  room; 
From  her  at  night  I  went  with  pain. 
And  lon2;'d  for  morn  to  meet  a2;ain. 

How  quick  the  smiling  moments  pass. 
Through  varying  fancy's  mimic  glass ! 
While  the  gay  scene  is  painted  o'er. 
Where  all  was  one  wide  blank  before; 
And  sweetly  sooth'd  th'  inchanting  dream,, 
'Till  love  inspir'd  a  bolder  scheme. 

Camilla,  stung  with  grief  and  shame. 
Now  marks,  and  shuns  the  guilty  flame; 
Fierce  anger  lighten'd  in  her  face. 
Then  cold  reserve  assum'd  its  place: 
And  soon,  the  wretch's  hardest  fate, 
Contempt  succeeds  declining  hate. 
No  more  my  presence  now  she  flies. 
She  sees  me  with  unheedino-  eves; 
Sees  me  with  various  passions  burn, 
Enrag'd  depart,  submiss  return ; 
Return  with   flattering  hopes  to  find 
Soft  pity  move  her  gentle  mind. 
But  ah  !  her  looks  were  still  the  same, 
Unmark'd  I  went,  unmark'd  I  came ; 
Unmark'd  were  all  my  hopes  and  fears,, 
While  Strephon  whispers  in  her  ears. 

O  Jealousy  !  distracting  guest ! 
Fly  to  some  happy  lover's  breast ; 
Fitly  with  joy  thou  minglest  care. 
But  why  inhabit  with  despair  r 


POEMS  185 

TO   CORINNA. 

By   earl   NUGENT. 

While  I  those  hard  commands  obey, 
Which  tear  me  from  thee  far  away  ; 
Never  did  yet  love-tortur'd  youth, 
So  dearly  prove  his  doubted  truth  j 
For  never  woman  charm'd  Hke  thee, 
And  never  man  yet  lov'd  like  me. 

All  creatures  whom  fond  flames  inspire. 
Pursue  the  object  they  desire  ; 
But  I,  prepost'rous  doom  !  must  prove 
By  distant  flight  the  strongest  love  ; 
And  ev'rv  wav  distress'd  bv  fate. 
Must  lose  thv  sight,  or  meet  thy  hate. 

EPIGRAMS. 

By  the    same. 

EPIGRAM    I. 

I  lov'd  thee  beautiful  and   kind. 
And  plighted  an  eternal  vow; 
So  alter'd  are  thy  face  and  mind, 
'Twere  perjury  to  love  thee  now. 

EPIGRAM    II. 

Since  first  vou  knew  mv  amVous  smart, 
Each   day  augments  your  proud  disdain ; 
'Twas  then  enough  to  break  my  heart. 
And  now,  thank  heav'n  !  to  break  my  chain. 
Cease,  thou  scorner,  cease  to  shun  me ! 
Now  let  love  and  hatred  cease ! 
Half  that  rigour  had  undone  me. 
All  that  rigour  gives  me  peace. 

EPIGRAM    III. 

My  heart  still  hoverino;  round  about  vou, 
I  thought  I  could  not  live  without  you ; 
Now  we  have  liv'd  three  months  asunder, 
How  I  liv'd  with  you  is  the  wonder. 


i86  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

EPIGRAM    IV. 

Upon  the  Bust  of  English  IFurthies,  at  Stow. 

Among  these  chiefs  of  British  race, 

Who  live  in  breathing  stone, 
Why  has  not  Cobham's  bust  a  place  ? 

The  structure  was  his  own. 

EPIGRAM    V. 

Tho'  cheerful,  discreet,  and  with  freedom  well  bred, 
She  never  repented  an  idle  word  said : 
Securely  she  smiles  on  the  forward  and  bold. 
They  feel  what  they  owe  her,  and  feel  it  untold. 

EPIGRAM    VI. 

Lye  on  !  while  my  revenge  shall  be, 
To  speak  the  very  truth  of  thee. 

EPIGRAM    VII. 

I  SWORE  I  lov'd,  and  you  believ'd. 
Yet,  trust  me,  we  were  both  deceiv'd ; 

Though  all  I  swore  was  true. 
I  lov'd  one  gen'rous,  good,  and  kind, 
A  form  created   in  my  mind ; 

And  thought  that  form  was  you. 

EPIGRAM    VIII. 

On  Airs.   Penelope. 

The  gentle  Pen,  with  look  demure. 
Awhile  was  thought  a  virgin   pure : 
But  Pen,  as  ancient  poets  say. 
Undid  by  night  the  work  of  day. 

EPIGRAM    IX. 

On  one  who  Jirst  alused,  and  then  made  love  to  a  lady. 

Foul — with  graceless  verse. 
The  noble — dar'd  asperse. 
But  when  he  saw  her  well  bespatter'd, 
Her  reputation  stain'd  and  tatter'd; 


POEMS  187 

He  gazM  and  lov'd  the  hideous  elf, 
She  look'd  so  very  like  himself. 
True  sung  the  bard  well  known  to  fame, 
Self-love  and  social  are  the  same. 


EPIGRAM    X. 

While  Lucy,  chaste  as  mountain  snows, 

Gives  every  idle  fop  a  hearing ; 
In   Mary's  breast  a  passion  glows. 

Which  stronger  is  from  not  appearing. 
Say,  who  has  chose  the  better  part ! 

Mary,  to  whom  no  joy  is  missing; 
Or  she,  who  dupe  to  her  own  heart. 

Pays  the  full  price  of  Mary's  kissing. 

EPIGRAM    XI. 

She  who  in  secret  yields  her  heart. 
Again  may  claim  it  from  her  lover; 

But  she  who  plays  the  trifler's  part. 
Can  ne'er  her  squander'd  fame  recover. 

Then  grant  the  boon  for  which  I  pray  ! 

'Tis  better  lend  than  throw  away. 

EPIGRAM    XII. 

We  thought  you  without  titles  great, 

And  wealthy  with  a  small  estate; 
While  by  your  humble  self  alone. 
You  seem'd  unrated  and  unknown. 
But  now  on  fortune's  swelling  tide 
High-borne,  in  all  the  pomp  of  pride ; 
Of  grandeur  vain,  and  fond  of  pelf, 
"Tis  plain,  my  lord,  you  knew  yourself. 

EPIGRAM    XIII. 

Lovely  shines  thy  wedded  fair. 

Gentle  as  the  yielding  air; 
Cheering  as  the  solar  beam. 
Soothing  as  the  fountain-stream. 
Why  then,  jealous  husband,  rail  ? 
All  may  breathe  the  ambient  gale. 


i88  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Bask  in  heaven's  diffusive  ray, 
Drink  the  streams  that  pass  away. 
All  may  share  unless'ning  joy, 
Why  then  jealous,  peevish  boy  ? 
Water,  air,  and  light  confine. 
Ere  thou  think'st  her  only  thine. 

EPIGRAM    XIV. 

Tom  thought  a  wild  profusion  great : 

And  therefore  spent  his  whole  estate : 
Will  thinks  the  wealthy  are  ador'd. 
And  gleans  what  misers  blush  to  hoard. 
Their  passion,  merit,  fate  the  same. 
They  thirst  and  starve  alike  for  fame. 

EPIGRAM    XV. 
To  Clarissa. 

Why  like  a  tvrant  wilt  thou  rei2:n. 

When  thou  may'st  rule  the  willing  mind  ? 
Can  the  poor  pride  of  giving  pain 
Repay  the  joys  that  wait  the  kind  ? 
I  curse  my  fond  enduring  heart. 
Which  scorn'd  presumes  not  to  be  free, 
Condemn'd  to  feel  a  double  smart. 
To  hate  myself,  and  burn  for  thee. 

EPIGRAM    XVI. 

Ever  busy'd,  ne'er  employ'd. 
Ever  loving,  ne'er  enjoy'd. 
Ever  doom'd  to  seek  and  miss. 
And  pay  unbless'd  the  price  of  bliss. 

EPIGRAM    XVII. 

Vainly  hath  heaven  denounc'd  the  woman's  woes. 

Thou  know'st  no  tender  care,  no  bitter  throes, 
Unfelt  your  offspring  comes,  unfelt  it  goes. 


POEMS  189 


AN  ELEGY. 

Wrapt  in  a  sable  Cloud  the  Morn  appears, 
And  ev'ry  Object  Sorrow's  Livery  wears  ; 
Slow  move  the  leaden  Hours,  my  lab'ring  Breast 
Struggles  beneath  a  weight  of  Grief  opprest; 
The  swelling  Sighs  burst  forth,  Tears  gushing  flow, 
While  all  within  is  Anarchy  of  Woe. 

The  sprightly  Lay,  and  social  Converse  wound 
My  tortur'd  Ear,  with  an  ungrateful  Sound  j 
Nor  chears  the  Dance  my  unregarding  Eye, 
Flown  is  its  Grace,  and  wonted   Harmony  ; 
Music  essays  inchanting  Notes  in  vain. 
While  Sorrows  mingle  with  the  soothing  Strain, 
Sink  deeper  to  the   Heart,  and  melting  move 
The  kindred  Powers  of  Pity  and  of  Love. 
For  she  is  now  no  more  to  whom  belono;. 
The   Dance,   the  Lay,  the  Converse  and  the  Song; 
Where  ev'ry  Love  with  every  Grace  was  join'd. 
And  sovereign  Reason  with  free  Mirth  combin'd. 

But  lo  !   Death  folds  her  in  his  icy  Arms, 
And  clothes  in  awful  Horrors  all  her  Charms; 
O'er  the  dim  Eve  eternal  Slumbers  sheds. 
The  clay-cold  Cheek  with  ghastly  Pale  o'erspreads, 
Steals  from  the  livid  Lip  its  fragrant  Bloom, 
Too  early  sunk  within  a  dreary  Tomb  ! 

Ah  !   fruitless  Love !   and  will  vou  then  pursue 
An  Object  lost  for  ever  to  my  View  ? 
Lost  thou  shalt  never  be.   Immortal  Fair  ! 
My  Mind  shall  still  the  Dear  Idea  bear. 
There  shalt  thou  present  be,  there  ever  live. 
And  there  the  Fullness  of  my  Heart  receive. 
In  melancholy  Raptures  will  I  trace 
Thy  ev'ry  Charm,  and  each  transporting  Grace ; 
My  faithful  Memory  shall  past  Days  renew. 
Those  happy  Moments  that  I  pass'd  with  you ; 
So  shall  each  little  Circumstance  be  there. 
And  each   Reflection  shall  draw  forth  a  Tear. 

Ah !   now  I  mav,  without  offence,  proclaim, 
A  faithful,  generous,  and   most  secret  Flame, 
Which  burn'd  like  those  Sepulchral  Lamps,  that  light 
The  silent  Mansions  of  eternal  Nisht. 


190  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 


AN   INSCRIPTION  ON  THE  TOMB 

RAISED     TO     THE     MEMORY      OF     THE     AUTHOR's      FATHER,     AND      OF 

others  his  ancestors. 
By  the  same. 

Unmark'd  by  trophies  of  the  great  and  vain, 

Here  sleeps  in  silent  tombs  a  gentle  train. 

No  folly  wasted  their  paternal  store, 

No  guilt,  no  sordid  av'rice  made  it  more  ; 

With  honest  fame,  and  sober  plenty  crown'd. 

They  liv'd,  and  spread  their  cheering  influence  round. 

May  he  whose  hand  this  pious  tribute  pays, 

Receive  a  like  return  of  filial  praise  ! 


TO  THE  MEMORY  OF  THE 

RIGHT  HONOURABLE  CHARLOTTE 
VISCOUNTESS  TOWNSHEND, 

BARONESS     FERRARS     IN     HER     OWN    RIGHT,    WHO    DIED    AT    LEIXLIP^ 
IN    IRELAND,    ON    THE    5TH    OF    SEPTEMBER,     1770. 

By  earl  NUGENT. 

With  down-cast  look,  and  pitying  eye, 

Unarm'd  the  King  of  Terrors  stood  ; 
He  laid  his  sting  and  horrors  by. 

Averse  to  strike  the  fair  and  2;ood  : 
When  thus  an  angel  urg'd  the  blow — 

"  No  more  thy  lifted  hand  suspend  ! 
"To  conscious  guilt  a  dreaded  foe, 

"To  innocence  a  welcome  friend. 
"  Bright  hosts  of  cherubs  round  her  stand, 

"  To  her  and  me  confess'd  alone  ; 
"Each  waving  his  celestial  hand, 

"And  pointing  to  th'  eternal  throne." 


POEMS  191 

The  angel  spoke — nor  husband  dear, 

Nor  children  lov'd  (a  mournful  train) 
Could  from  her  eve  attract  one  tear, 

Nor  bend  one  thou2;ht  to  earth  a2:ani. 
The  soul,  impatient  of  delay. 

No  more  could  mortal  fetters  bind, 
But  springing  to  the  realms  of  day. 

Leaves  ev'ry  human  care  behind. 
Yet,  oh  !   an  infant  daughter's^  claim 

Demands  from  Heaven  thy  guardian  care  \ 
Protect  that  lovely,  helpless  frame ! 

And  guard  that  breast  you  form'd  so  fair. 
A  parent's  loss,  unknown,  unwept. 

Thoughtless  the  fatal  hour  she  past ; 
Or  only  thought  her  mother  slept. 

Nor  knew  how  long  that  sleep  must  last. 
When  time  th'  unfolding  mind  displays, 

May  she,   bv  thy  example  led. 
Fly  from  that  motley  giddy  maze. 

Which  youth,  and  guilt,  and  folly  tread  ! 
These  never  knew  the  2;uidin2:  hand 

Which  leads  to  virtue's  arduous  way  : 
Mothers  now  join  the  vagrant  band. 

And  teach  their  children  how  to  stray. 
Her  shall  the  pious  task  engage, 

(Such  one  was  thine,  with  lenient  aid) 
A  father's  sorrows  to  assuage. 

His  love  with  equal  love  repaid. 
So  shall  she  read  with  ardent  eye, 

This  lesson  thy  last  moments  give — 
"They  who,  like  thee,  would  fearless  die, 

"Spotless,  like  thee,  must  learn  to  live.'* 

1  Elizabeth,  born  in  August  1766. 


192  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

AN  EPISTLE  TO  ROBERT  NUGENT,  ESQ.,i 

WITH    A    PICTURE    OF    DR.    SWIFT. 

By  WILLIAM  DUNKIN,  M.D. 


To  gratify  thy  long  desire, 
(So  love  and  piety  require,) 
From  Brindon's  colours  you  may  trace 
The  patriot's  venerable  face. 
The  last,  O   Nugent  !   which  his  art 
Shall  ever  to  the  world  impart  ; 
For  know,  the  prime  of  mortal  men, 
That  matchless  monarch  of  the  pen, 
(Whose  labours,  like  the  genial  sun, 
Shall  through  revolving  ages  run, 
Yet  never,  like  the  sun,  decline. 
But  in  their  full  meridian  shine,) 
That  ever  honour'd,  envied  sage. 
So  long  the  wonder  of  the  age. 
Who  charm'd  us  with  his  golden  strain. 
Is  not  the  shadow  of  the  Dean  : 
He  only  breathes  Boeotian  air — 
"  O  !   what  a  falling  off  was  there  !  " 

Hibernia's  Helicon  is  drv. 
Invention,  Wit,  and  Humour  die  ; 
And  what  remains  against  the  storm 
Of  Malice  but  an  empty  form  ? 
The  nodding  ruins  of  a  pile. 
That  stood  the  bulwark  of  this  isle  ? 
In  which  the  sisterhood  was  fix'd 
Of  candid   Honour,  Truth,  unmix'd. 
Imperial  Reason,  Thought  profound, 
And  Charity,  diffusing  round 
In  cheerful  rivulets  to  flow 
Of  Fortune  to  the  sons  of  Woe  ? 

Such  one,  my  Nugent,  was  thy  Swift, 
Endued  with  each  exalted   gift. 
But  lo  !   the  pure  ethereal  flame 
Is  darken'd  by  a  misty  steam  : 

^  Created  Baron  Nugent  and  Viscount  ClarC;,  Dec.  lo,  1776. 


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POEMS 

The  balm  exhausted  breathes  no  smell, 
The  rose  is  wither'd  ere  it  fell. 
That  godlike  supplement  of  law, 
Which  held  the  wicked  world  in  awe. 
And  could  the  tide  of  faction  stem, 
Is  but  a  shell  without  the  2:em. 

Ye  sons  of  genius,  who  would  aim 
To  build  an  everlasting  fame. 
And  in  the  field  of  letter'd  arts, 
Display  the  trophies  of  your  parts, 
To  yonder  mansion  turn  aside. 
And   mortify  your  growing  pride. 
Behold  the  brightest  of  the  race. 
And   Nature's  honour,  in  disgrace  : 
With  humble  resignation  own. 
That  all  vour  talents  are  a  loan  ; 
By  Providence  advanced  for  use. 
Which  you  should  studv  to  produce. 
Reflect,  the  mental  stock,  alas  ! 
However  current  now  it  pass. 
May  haply  be  recall'd  from  you 
Before  the  grave  demands  his  due. 
Then,  while  your  morning  star  proceeds, 
Direct  your  course  to  worthy  deeds, 
In  fuller  day  discharge  your  debts  ; 
For,  when  your  sun  of  reason  sets. 
The  night  succeeds  ;  and  all  your  schemes 
Of  glory  vanish  with  your  dreams. 

Ah  !   where  is  now  the  supple  train. 
That  danced  attendance  on  the  Dean  ? 
Say,  where  are  those  facetious  folks. 
Who  shook  with  laughter  at  his  jokes. 
And  with  attentive  rapture  hung. 
On  wisdom,  dropping  from  his  tongue  ; 
Who  look'd  with  high  disdainful  pride 
On  all  the  busy  world  beside. 
And  rated  his  productions  more 
Than  treasures  of  Peruvian  ore  ? 

Good  Christians  !    they  with  bended  knees 
Ingulph'd  the  wine,  but  loathe  the  lees. 
Averting,   (so  the  text  commands). 
With  ardent  eyes  and  upcast  hands. 
The  cup  of  sorrow  from  their  lips. 
And  fly,  like  rats,  from  sinking  ships. 

o 


^93 


194  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

While  some,  who  by  his  friendship  rose 

To  wealth,  in  concert  with  his  foes 

Run  counter  to  their  former  track, 

Like  old  Actaeon's  horrid  pack 

Of  yelling  mongrels,  in  requitals 

To  riot  on  their  master's  vitals ; 

And,  where  they  cannot  blast  his  laurels, 

Attempt  to  stigmatize  his  morals  ; 

Through  Scandal's  magnifying  glass 

His  foibles  view,  but  virtues  pass, 

And  on  the  ruins  of  his  fame 

Erect  an  ignominious  name. 

So  vermin  foul,  of  vile  extraction, 

The  spawn  of  dirt  and  putrefaction, 

The  sounder  members  traverse  o'er. 

But  fix  and  fatten  on  a  sore. 

Hence  !   peace,  ye  wretches,  who  revile 

His  wit,  his  humour,  and  his  style  ; 

Since  all  the  monsters  which  he  drew 

Were  only  meant  to  copy  you  ; 

And  if  the  colours  be  not  fainter, 

Arraign  yourselves,  and  not  the  painter. 

But,  O  !  that  He,  who  gave  him  breathy 
Dread  arbiter  of  life  and  death  ; 
That  He,  the  moving  soul  of  all. 
The  sleeping  spirit  would  recall, 
And  crown  him  with  triumphant  meeds, 
For  all  his  past  heroic  deeds. 
In  mansions  of  unbroken  rest. 
The  bright  republic  of  the  bless'd  ! 
Irradiate  his  benighted  mind 
With  livino;  lisfht  of  lio^ht  refined  : 
And  there  the  blank  of  thought  employ 
With  objects  of  immortal  joy  ! 

Yet,  while  he  drags  the  sad  remains 
Of  life,  slow-creeping  through  his  veins, 
Above  the  views  of  private  ends. 
The  tributary  Muse  attends. 
To  prop  his  feeble  steps,  or  shed 
The  pious  tear  around  his  bed. 

So  pilgrims,  with  devout  complaints. 
Frequent  the  graves  of  martyr'd  saints. 
Inscribe  their  worth  in  artless  lines. 
And,  in  their  stead,  embrace  their  shrines. 


LETTERS 


LETTERS 

The  following  correspondence  is  gathered  partly  from  Horace 
Walpole's  letters  to  Sir  Horace  Mann  and  others,  partly  from  the 
Newcastle  Papers  now  in  the  possession  of  the  British  Museum,  and 
partly  from  original  manuscripts,  the  property  of  Sir  Edmund 
Nugent,  Bart.,  of  West  Harling  Hall,  Thetford. 

The  arrangement  of  these  letters  in  any  consecutive  order  has 
been  a  matter  of  absolute  impossibility:  I  have,  therefore,  con- 
sidered it  wisest  to  let  them  speak  for  themselves,  making  any 
explanations  necessary  concerning  them,  where  I  have  been  able 
to  do  so,  by  means  of  footnotes.  The  majority  of  them  are  now 
published  for  the  first  time,  although  all  of  Horace  Walpole's,  some 
of  Pope's,  and  a  fragment  of  one  of  Lord  Chesterfield's  have 
already  appeared  in  print. 

Walpole's  Letters. 

To  Sir  Horace  Mann. 

Christmas  Eve,  i74i« 


You  know,  or  have  heard  of,  Mrs.  Nugent  (Newsham's 
mother) ;  she  went  the  other  morning  to  Lord  Chesterfield  to  beg 
"  he  would  encourage  Mr.  Nugent  to  speak  in  the  house  ;  for  that 
really  he  was  so  bashful,  she  was  afraid  his  abilities  would  be  lost  to 
the  world."  I  don't  know  who  has  encouraged  him  ;  but  so  it  is, 
that  this  modest  Irish  converted  Catholic  does  talk  a  prodigious 
deal  of  nonsense  in  behalf  of  English  liberty. 

Walpoles  Letters. 

To  Sir  Horace  Mann. 

May  20,  1742. 

The  great  Mr.  Nugent  has  been  unfortunate,  too,  in  Parliament ; 
besides  being  very  ill  heard,  from  being  a  very  indifferent  speaker  ; 
the  other  day  on  the  Place  Bill,  (which,  by  the  way,  we  have  new 

197 


198  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

modelled  and  softened,  and  to  which  the  Lords  have  submitted  to 
agree  to  humour  Pulteney,)  he  rose,  and  said,  "  He  would  not  vote, 
as  he  was  not  determined  in  his  opinion  ;  but  he  would  offer  his 
sentiments;  which  were  particularly,  that  the  bishops  had  been  the 
cause  of  this  bill  beino;  thrown  out  before."  Winnin^ton  called 
him  to  order,  desiring  he  would  be  tender  of  the  Church  of 
England.  You  know  he  was  a  papist.  In  answer  to  the  begin- 
ning of  his  speech,  Velters  Cornwall,  who  is  of  the  same  side,  said, 
"  He  wondered  that  when  that  gentleman  could  not  convince 
himself,  by  his  eloquence,  he  should  expect  to  convince  the 
majority." 

Walpole's  Letters. 

To  Sir  Horace  Mann. 

Arlington  St.,yuly  22,  1744. 

Lord  Middlesex  is  2;oino;  to  be  married  to 
Miss  Boyle,  Lady  Shannon's  daughter  ;  she  has  thirty  thousand 
pounds,  and  may  have  as  much  more,  if  her  mother,  who  is  a 
plump  widow,  don't  happen  to  Nugentize.  The  girl  is  low  and 
ugly,  but  a  vast  scholar. 

Walpole's  Letters. 

To  Sir  Horace  Mann. 

Strawberry  Hill,  Feb.  25,  1750. 

Nugent  had  flamed  and  abused  Lord  Sandwich  violently,  as 
author  of  this  outrageous  measure.  When  the  Bailiff  appeared, 
the  pacific  spirit  of  the  other  part  of  the  administration  had  operated 
so  much,  that  he  was  dismissed  with  honour  ;  and  only  instructed 

to  abridge  all  delays  by  authority  of  the  House in  short,    "  we 

spit  in  his  hat  on  Thursday,  and  wiped  it  off  on  Friday."  This 
is  a  new  fashionable  proverb  which  I  must  construe  to  you. 
About  ten  days  ago,  at  the  new  Lady  Cobham's  ^  assembly.  Lord 
Hervey  ^  was  leaning  over  a  chair  talking  to  some  women,  and 
holding  his  hat  in  his  hand.     Lord  Cobham  came  up  and  spit  in 

it yes,  spit  in  it  ! — and  then,  with  a  loud  laugh,  turned    to 

Nugent,  and  said,  "  Pay  me  my  wager."  .  In  short,  he  had  laid  a 

^  Anna  Chamber,  wife  of  Richard  Temple,  Lord  Cobham,  afterwards 
Earl  Temple. 

-  George,  eldest  son  of  John,  late  Lord  Hervey,  son  of  the  Earl  of 
Bristol,  whom  this  George  succeeded  in  the  title. 


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HORACE   WALPOLE 


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LETTERS 


199 


guinea  that  he  committed  this  absurd  brutality,  and  that  it  was  not 
resented.  Lord  Hervey,  with  great  temper  and  sensibility,  asked 
if  he  had  any  farther  occasion  for  his  hat  ? — ''  Oh  !  I  see  vou  are 
angry  !  " — "  Not  very  well  pleased."  Lord  Cobham  took  the  fatal 
hat,  and  wiped  it,  made  a  thousand  foolish  apologies,  and  wanted  to 
pass  it  for  a  joke.  Next  morning  he  rose  with  the  sun,  and  went 
to  visit  Lord  Hervev  ;  so  did  Nuo;ent  :  he  would  not  see  them, 
but  wrote  to  the  Spitter,  (or,  as  he  is  now  called,  Lord  Gob'em,) 
to  say,  that  he  had  affronted  him  very  grossly  before  companv,  but 
having  involved  Nugent  in  it,  he  desired  to  know  to  which  he  was 
to  address  himself  for  satisfaction.  Lord  Cobham  wrote  him  a 
most  submissive  answer,  and  begged  pardon  both  in  his  own  and 
Nugent's  name.  Here  it  rested  for  a  few  days  ;  till  getting  wind, 
Lord  Hervey  wrote  again  to  insist  on  an  explicit  apology  under 
Lord  Cobham's  own  hand,  with  a  rehearsal  of  the  excuses  that  had 
been  made  to  him.  This  too  was  complied  with,  and  the  fmr 
conqueror  ^  shows  all  the  letters. 


Walpole's  Letters. 

To  THE  Countess  of  Ossory. 

Berkeley  Sciuare,  Nov.  14,  1779. 

•  ••••••• 

I  will  not  answer  so  positively  for  what  I  am  going  to  tell  vou, 
as  I  had  it  only  from  the  person  himself.  The  Duke  of  Gloucester 
was  at  Bath  with  the  Margrave  of  Anspach.  Lord  Nugent  came 
up  and  would  talk  to  the  Duke,  and  then  asked  if  he  might  take 
the  liberty  of  inviting  his  Royal  Highness  to  dinner  ?  I  think  you 
will  admire  the  quickness  and  propriety  of  the  answer  : — the  Duke 
replied,  "  My  Lord,  I  make  no  acquaintance  but  in  London," 
where  you  know.  Madam,  he  only  has  levees.  The  Irishman 
continued  to  talk  to  him  even  after  that  rebuff.  He  certainly 
hoped  to  have  been  very  artful — to  have  made  court  there,  and  yet 
not  have  offended  anywhere  else  by  not  going  to  town,  which 
would  have  been  a  gross  affront  to  the  Duke  had  he  accepted  the 
invitation. 

^  George,  Lord  Hervey  was  a  very  effeminate-looking  man,  which 
probably  encouraged  Lord  Temple  to  risk  this  disgusting  act  of 
incivility. 


200  MEMOIR    OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,699. 
Vol.  xiv.  f.  270. 

London,  June  2d. 
Dear  Parson, 

I  am  sorry  you  have  not  receivd  my  Letter  because  I 
shall  not  now  be  able  to  see  you  in  London,  for  I  go  into  Essex 
upon  Saturday  next.  I  have  settled  with  Mr.  Stone,  secretary  to 
the  Duke  of  Newcastle,  that  upon  your  resigning  St.  Ive  it  shall 
be  given  to  the  Person  whom  you  mentiond  in  your  Letter  to 
me.  You  must  therefore  come  to  Town  without  Loss  of  Time, 
and  make  personal  Application,  in  my  Name,  to  Mr.  Stone,  who 
will  give  you  all  necessary  Directions. 

I  am, 

Your  Friend  and  Servt., 

R.  Nugent. 

To  the  reverd  Mr.  Richards  at  St.  Ive  near  Callington,  Cornwall. 
Endorsed,  June  2. 

Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,708. 
Vol.  xxiii.  f.  352. 

Gosfield  near  Brain  tree  in  Essex, 

Sep.  2is,t,  1746. 

Sir, 

The  very  strong  Proofs  which  you  have  given  me  of 
good  Nature  and  Friendship  in  a  late  Instance,  which  ever  shall 
be  fresh  in  my  memory,  induce  me  now  to  apply  to  you,  and  to 
you  only,  in  Favour  of  a  very  near  Kinsman,  a  french  officer 
Prisoner  upon  his  Parole  in  the  Marshalsea  of  Southwark.  I  send 
you  his  Letter  to  me,  together  with  a  memorial  addressed  to  the 
Duke  of  Newcastle.  His  Letter  is  unsealed  at  my  Desire,  and 
the  Request  containd  in  his  memorial  must  be  of  infinite  Import- 
ance to  him,  who  to  mv  Knowledge  has  been  an  officer  upwards 
of  twenty  years  in  the  french  service,  and  is  now  no  more  than  a 
Captain.  I  find  by  his  Letter  that  he  is  sensible  of  the  Duke  of 
Newcastle's  humane  Dispositions  towards  all  Those  who  are  in 
like  Circumstances  with  himself,  and  I  hope  his  Grace's  generous 
Example  will  be  followd  by  our  Enemies,  if  it  should  happen  that 
any  of  our  officers  shoud  by  the  Chance  of  war  stand  in  need  of 
its  Influence,  of  this  Truth  I  will  beg  Leave  to  assure  you,  and 
if  I  coud  hope  it  woud  have  any  weight  with  his  Grace,  I  woud 
beg  of  you  to  assure  him,  that  his  Complyance  with  the  Request 
which  I   now  make   in   Favour  of  my    Kinsman,  whose   whole 


LETTERS  201 

Fortune  seems  to  depend  upon  it,  will  lay  me  under  an  obligation 
which  I  shall  ever  acknowledge  with  the  utmost  Gratitude.  I  am 
Sir  with  Truth  and  Esteem 

your  most  obliged  and 

most  obedient  Servant, 

R.  Nugent. 

I  need  not  say  from  the  Nature  of  the  Case  that  Dispatch  will 
render  the  oblio;ation  greater  and  more  effectual.  If  the  memorial 
succeeds  be  pleased  to  let  the  Prisoner  be  acquainted  with  its 
success. 

Endorsed,  G.oslield,  Sep.  23.     Mr.  Nugent. 


Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,708. 
Vol.  xxiii.  f.  393. 

Etherup  in  Bucks,  Sepr.  30,  1746. 
Dear  Sir, 

Indeed  I  want  words  to  express  my  Sense  of  the  friendly 
and  humane  Part  you  are  pleasd  to  take  in  Favour  of  my  Kinsman. 
A  Breast  like  yours  will  easily  feel  the  motives  which  render  me 
solicitous  that  your  Endeavours  may  have  their  full  Effect,  one 
Effect  they  certainly  shall  have.     They  will  ever  confirm  me 

Dear  Sir  with  the  hio-hest  Esteem 
your  faithful  and 

most  obedient  Servant, 

R.  Nugent. 

Be  pleasd  to  direct  to  my  House  in  Dover  street. 
Endorsed,  Mr.  Nugent. 


Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,726. 
Vol.  xli.  f.  76. 

Janry  2^d,  1752. 
My  Lord  Duke, 

Your  Grace  does  me  Justice  in  being  convinced  that  no 
Body  coud  receive  greater  Jov  than  I  did  from  the  Event  of 
yesterday,  and  to  the  most  hearty  Congratulations,  give  me 
Leave  to  ad  my  warmest  wishes  that  the  same  success  may  ever 
attend  vour  Grace's  Endeavours  for  the  Good  of  vour  Country, 
my  Lord  Granville  objects  to  Thursday  as  he  must  that  Day 


202  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

attend  a  Cause,  but  he  leaves  every  other  Day  to  your  Grace's 
Choice,  and  my  Servant  waits  to  convey  your  Grace's  Commands 
to  my  Lord 

Your  Grace's  most  faithful 

and  most  obedient  servant 

R.  Nugent. 

Endorsed^  Jan.  23rdj  1752.     Mr.  Nugent. 

Newcastle  House, 

Jan.  2^rd,  1752. 
Dear  Sr, 

I  am  sure  you  had  great  satisfaction  in  the  Majority  of 
yesterday,  So  I  heartily  wish  you  joy  of  it.  I  have  received  your 
commands  for  Monday  next,  but  as  our  great  Debate  comes  on 
the  day  after  in  ye  House  of  Lords,  and  as  It  may  be  necessary 
possibly  to  have  some  Meeting  of  Lords  the  night  before,  or  at 
least  to  be  settling  our  Business  amongst  ourselves,  I  should  wish 
to  attend  you,  when  I  should  be  more  at  liberty  to  think  of 
nothing  else  but  the  pleasure  of  the  Day.  If  therefore  the 
Thursday  after  be  as  convenient  to  you,  I  should  be  much  obliged 
to  you  If  you  would  put  off  ye  dinner  to  that  day. 

I  am.  Dear  Sr,  yrs 
most  affectly, 

HoLLEs  Newcastle. 
Mr.  Nugent. 


Newcastle  House, 

May   2,  1754. 
Dear  Sr, 

I  cannot  sufficiently  express  the  Joy  which  your  great 
success  has  given  The  King,  and  The  Loyalty  Zeal  &  Affection, 
which  His  Majesty's  faithful  Subjects  of  The  Second  City  in  His 
Kingdoms  have  shewn  upon  this  occasion.  May  I  presume  after 
this  to  say,  no  man  can  take  a  greater  share  in  This  Success  than 
myself,  My  Duty  and  Zeal  for  the  King,  my  real  friendship  and 
Regard  for  you,  must  make  me  more  joy'd  of  this  great  event 
Than  of  any  which  has  happen'd  in  any  part  of  The  Kingdom  ; 
tho'  thro'out  every  part  of  it.  Elections  have  gone  well  beyond 
our  most  Sanguine  Hopes.  The  Principle  upon  which  our  Friends 
preferr'd  Mr.  Beckford  to  Sr  John  Philips  is  highly  commendable, 
and  even  makes  that  preference  meritorious,  as  I  wish  you  would 
tel  our  Friends  from  me,  whatever  may  have  been  my  private 
sentiments  upon  the  first  accounts  which  I  received  from  you. 


LETTERS  203 

We  hear  that  Alderman  Beckford  intends  to  chuse  Sr  John 
Phih'ps  at  Petersfield,  Meare  (as  I  am  afraid  is  too  certain)  that 
he  is  chose  for  the  City  of  London.  It  will  soon  be  for  the  honor 
of  Bristol.  Then  they  have  virtue  &  Resolution  to  distinguish 
those  who  are  real  Friends  to  the  King,  and  the  Government, 
Sc  to  the  Liberties,  &  Trade  of  this  Countrey.  You  have 
now  an  opportunity  of  doing  a  very  agreeable  thing  to  the  King, 
a  very  Honorable  one  for  yourself,  and  a  very  proper  one  for  one 
chose  by  the  Zealous  friends  of  the  Government  in  Bristol,  by 
chusing  at  St  Mawes  as  worthy,  as  honorable  and  as  useful  a 
Friend  to  the  Government  as  can  come  into  parliament,  I  mean 
Sr  William  Calvert,  who  I  am  afraid  for  those  verv  qualifications 
will  be  rejected  by  the  City  of  London.  I  am  perswaded  Mrs. 
Nugent  would  not  disapprove  this  measure,  If  you  would  explain 
it  to  Her,  in  the  light  in  which  it  certainly  is.  I  beg  you  would 
not  shew  this  letter,  but  assure  all  our  Friends  that  they  may 
command  the  best  wishes  of 

Dear  Sr, 

Your  Most  AiFect  Humble  Servant, 

HoLLEs  Newcastle. 

Mr.  Nugent. 


From  the  Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,736. 
Vol.  li.  f.  133. 

Gosfield,  August  Jst,  1754. 

My  Dear  Lord  Duke, 

Having  read  in  this  Day's  Newspaper  that  by  the  Death 
of  Mr.  Dawnay  a  Prebend  of  Canterbury  is  become  vacant,  I 
can  not  refrain  from  putting  your  Grace  in  mind  of  poor  Tucker. 
Thus  much  I  mast  say  in  Excuse  for  the  Liberty  I  take,  that  were 
I  quite  out  of  the  Question,  and  the  man  not  my  particular  Friend, 
I  should  stil  most  earnestly  wish  that  He  who  has  so  eminently 
distinguished  Himself,  upon  various  occasions,  in  the  Whigg- 
Cause,  and  recommended  Himself  beyond  any  other  Person 
whatever,  by  his  merits  and  his  sufferings,  to  his  majesty's  best 
Friends  at  Bristol,  should  receive  a  distinguished  Reward  from 
your  Grace,  and  I  wish  this  the  more,  as  I  sincerely  desire  to  see 
your  Grace  rivitted  in  the  Hearts  of  my  Constituents,  as  you  are 
in  the  steady  Affections  of,  my  Dear  Lord  Duke, 

your  Grace's  most  faithful  and  most 

obedient  Servant, 
R.  'Nugent. 


204  MEMOIR    OF   EARL   NUGENT 

I  have  acquainted  my  Lord  Berkley  with  your  Grace's  kind 
Answer  to  his  Request. 

The  inclosed  Letter  comes  from  the  chief  Quakers  at  Bristol, 
who  sent  your  Grace  the  Turtle  that  dyd  on  the  Road. 

Endorsed,  Mr.  Nugent's  Letter,  August  i,  1754.     Rd.  Augt.  2. 

From  the  Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,736. 
Vol.  li.  f.  358. 

Gosfield,  August  16th,  1754. 

My  Dear  Lord  Duke, 

I  am  order'd  by  a  Committee  of  the  Union  Clubb  to 
enclose  an  Invitation  to  your  Grace  to  dine  with  Them  at  Bristol 
on  the  4th  of  September.  But,  as  They  are  aware  that  your  Grace 
may  probably  be  elsewhere  engaged  on  that  Day,  They  only 
Desire  (N  :  B  :  The  Union-Clubb  never  desire  any  Thing 
unreasonable)  that  your  Grace  should  be  present  in  a  Bumper, 
immediately  after  the  King  and  Royal  Family,  may  I  take  the 
Freedom  to  make  use  of  this  opportunity  to  remind  your  Grace^ 
that  Gosfield  lys  upon  the  best  and  shortest  Road  between  Euston 
and  London,  and  that  it  is  inhabited  by, 

my  Lord  Duke, 

Your  Grace's  most  faithful  and 
most  obedient  Servant, 
R.    Nugent. 

Endorsed,  Gosfield,  Aug.  26th,  1754.     Mr.  Nugent.     Rd.  28th. 

(Invitation  to  dine  with  the  Committee  of  the  Union  Club  at 
Bristol.) 


Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,854. 
Vol.  clxix.  f.  224. 

Dover-street 
half  an  Hour  after 
4,  April  22,  1755. 
My  Lord  Duke, 

Sir  Cordel  Firebran  has  at  the  rising  of  the  House  declared 
his  Intention  of  making  the  same  motion,  that  was  apprehended 
from  Lord  Powlet ;  and  altho  presst  to  say  for  certain  whether 
it  should  be  Tomorrow  or  the  Day  after.  He  declined  giving  a 
positive  Answer,  will  it  not  be  necessary  to  have  a  meeting  upon 
this  Occasion  .?  and  shoud  not  all  be  summond  who  generally  are 
sent  to  ?     If  this  is  to  be  done,   no  Time  shoud   be   lost,     your 


LETTERS  205 

Grace  will,  I  dare  hope,  impute  the  Liberty  I  take  to  the  sincere 
zeal  for  your  Service  which  ever  shall  animate,  my  Lord  Duke, 

Your  Grace's  most  faithful 

and  obedient  Servant, 

R.    Nugent. 

Endorsed,  April  22nd,  1755.     Mr.  Nugent. 


Charlton,  2  jfidy,  1755. 

Dear  Sr, 

I  enclose  a  Letter  from  Stambury  the  Exciseman  whose 
Case  I  communicated  to  you  at  Ranelagh,  and  whose  name 
you  took  down  in  order  to  remind  the  duke  of  Newcastle  of  a 
wretch  made  miserable  by  him  (now  for  15  months  together)  only 
for  having  given  his  Vote  to  yr  humble  Servant,  at  the  last  general 
Election. 

You  cannot  wonder  after  what  pass'd  last  winter  and  the 
particular  mention  (more  than  once  as  you  well  know)  of  this 
Affair,  that  I  should  make  no  direct  Application  in  behalf  of  this 
Person,  nor  can  you  think  it  wd  become  me,  or  any  Gentleman 
under  the  like  Circumstances,  to  ask  the  Relaxation  of  a  most 
unreasonable  severity  exerted  upon  one  of  his  Friends,  &  upon 
such  a  motive,  as  a  favour  at  any  man's  hands, — much  less  in  so 
pityfull  an  Instance  as  this,  and  after  the  slights  that  have  been 
manifested  on  the  Occasion. 

I  therefore  do  not  trouble  you  to  solicite  any  Thing;  but  as  mv 
very  good  Friend,  and  one  already  acquainted  with  his  Story,  to 
make  the  same  Request  to  you,  which  you  will  observe  the  poor 
Fellow  makes  in  his  Letter  to  me — viz.  that  you  will  he  so  kind  as 
to  find  out  whether  he  is  intended  to  he  released  from  the  desolate 
Scituation  ivliere  he  is,  or  not,  that  he  may  determine  how  to  act, 
as  to  the  settlement  of  his  Affairs. 

I  know  your  Friendship  for  the  Duke,  and  therefore  should  be 
sorry  to  induce  you  to  believe  by  ye  manner  of  this  Letter,  that  I 
take  anything  ill  of  him,  in  this  or  any  other  Instance — you  may 
be  possibly  convinced  of  the  Contrary  when  you  recollect  a  Story 
in  Sr  Wm  Temple,  wch  I  dare  say  you  will  remember  more 
accurately  than  I  do  upon  ye  first  mention  of  it,  and  wch  will 
shew  you  how  reasonable  men  (upon  whose  Sentiments  I  endeavour 
to  form  my  own  as  nearly  as  I  can)  consider  those  Incidents  in 
the  Light  of  Obligations,  wch  more  vulgar  understandings  absurdly 
think  they  have  Cause  to  resent. 

At  a  Time  when  Spain  had  great  Occasion  for  Friends  and 
allies  to  maintain  her  Possessions  in  the  Low  Countries  upon  the 


2o6  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Point  of  being  irrecoverably  lost  to  France,  she  treated  with  our 
late  King  William,  then  Prince  of  Orange,  to  avail  herself  of  his 
Interest  with  the  States.  The  Prince  stood  upon  no  good  Terms 
with  Spain  upon  various  accounts,  among  the  rest  upon  having 
been  trifled  with  about  a  reasonable  Claim  to  a  debt  due  to  his 
Family  for  a  long  Time  by  that  Court.  Yet  in  this  Conjuncture 
he  inclined  more  to  Spain  than  France  (as  he  honestly  thought  it 
best  for  ye  Interests  of  ye  the  States  to  do)  and  in  Consequence 
reed  solemn  assurances  (tho  unrequired  by  him)  that  the  money 
shd  be  paid,  nay  he  was  even  told  that  it  was  actually  lodged  in 
the  Hands  of  a  certain  Banker  abroad  to  be  remitted  without 
delay.  The  Day  of  Payment  wch  had  been  named  elapsed — 
many  more  afterwards  passed,  and  no  debt  discharged.  The  Prince 
said  nothing.  But  the  Spanish  Minister  at  ye  Hague  who  did  not 
imagine  for  that  Reason  that  he  was  insensible  to  ye  usage  he  had 
received,  thought  it  for  the  Interest  of  his  Master  not  to  leave  the 
Matter  upon  the  Prince's  mind,  without  attempting  some  apology 
for  his  satisfaction.  He  therefore  took  occasion  him  self  to  mention 
the  affair  to  ve  Prince,  excused  the  delay  by  pretending  the  money 
had  really  been  paid,  but  that  the  Banker  had  fail'd,  and  assured 
him  that  Care  would  be  taken  of  another  Remittance  in  a  Short 
Time,  conjuring  the  Prince  earnestly  not  to  conceive  any  Preju- 
dice against  his  Court  on  account  of  so  untoward  an  accident,  wch 
it  had  been  out  of  his  Power  to  prevent. 

The  Prince  of  Orange  heard  him  patiently,  and  undoubtedly 
without  any  Resentment,  because  he  made  him  the  following 
answer  with  a  smile.  That  he  was  surprised  the  Court  of  Spain 
shd  imagine  he  had  Conceived  any  discontent  at  their  Proceedings 
in  Regard  to  him.  On  the  Contrary  he  consider'd  himself  as 
under  the  highest  Obligations  on  that  Account,  for  if  they  had  not 
thought  him  the  honestest  man  living,  they  never  would  have 
treated  him  as  they  had  done. 

I  am.  Dear  Sr, 
Your  very  faithfuU  Friend  &  humble  Servt, 

Egmont. 

Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,857. 

Dover  Street,  Wednesday  Evejiing. 

My  Dear  Lord  Duke, 

If  there  be  any  Thing  too  strong  in  the  Letter  I  send  your 
Grace,  strike  it  out,  or  destroy  the  whole  and  I  will  lower  my  stile 
in  an  other  Letter.     But  I  think  I  know  the  man  to  whom  I 


LETTERS  207 

write,  and  that  it  is  of  Importance  to  set  you  well  together  before 
He  has  time  to  communicate  his  Displeasure  to  other  Correspond- 
ents, upon  this  Occasion  and  all  others  your  Grace's  Commands 
shall  be  obeyed  by 

your  Grace's  most  faithful 

and  obedient  Seryant 

R.  Nugent. 

Endorsed,  July  i6th,  1755.     Mr.  Nugent. 


(Mr.  Walpole.) 

Pall  Mall,  Saturday  Xoon. 

Dear  Sr, 

In  the  following  method  you  prescribe  in  yr  Letter  after 
haying  said  enough  of  Antient  History,  I  shall  descend  to  that  of 
modern  Times,  and  particularly  to  that  part  of  it  wch  relates  to 
my  Friend  Stambury  y.  Exciseman.  I  am  willing  to  receiye  all 
that  you  recount  Concernins;  him,  so  far  as  it  re2;ards  the  Duke  of 
Newcastle,  as  you  would  please  that  I  shd  take  it,  &  with  many 
Thanks  to  yr  self,  for  the  Pains  you  haye  employ'd  in  his  behalf. 
But  you  will  giye  me  Leaye  to  express  some  Concern  that  you  shd 
think  it  unreasonahle  for  me  after  what  has  passed ^  to  desire  his 
leing  replaced  at  Bridgewater. 

I  should  be  sorry  to  Commit  the  Duke  with  the  Person  whose 
Name  you  haye  forgot ;  I  know  the  Importance,  the  Steadiness  & 
the  Sincerity  of  his  Friendship,  and  should  therefore  think  it  hard 
upon  the  duke  to  press  him  to  give  him  just  Cause  of  Discontent. 
But  Mr.  Webb  must  certainly  haye  mistaken  the  Duke's  Promise 
to  him,  or  his  demand  of  ye  Duke,  wch  is  of  a  nature  strangely 
vindictiye,  that  none  removed  from  Bridgwater  on  Account  of 
?  Election  should  le  restored. — Upon  due  Consideration  of  all 
Circumstances  relatiye  to  his  Interest  &  mine  &c.  to  haye 
promised  that  none  of  his  Friends  should  le  removed  on  Account 
of  that  Election  would  haye  been  a  strong  Engagement. 

But  to  speak  plainly  upon  this  Subject,  I  submit  it  to  yourself^ 
whether  in  a  Borough  (where  your  own  Hints  import  a  Supposition 
that  a  Re-election  may  possibly  happen  soon),  it  ought  to  be  left 
in  doubt  with  the  People  there,  whether  I  have  Influence  enough 
to  restore  an  injur'd  man,  turn'd  out  by  an  Antagonist,  (Still  out 
of  yanity  and  that  only)  affecting  to  maintain  an  Interest  in  direct 
opposition  to  mine.  Is  this  not  evidently  to  create  all  the  Vexa- 
tion, Trouble  &  Expence  that  is  possible  to  me  ? — And  is  this 
Consistent  with  any  Profession  of  Sincerity  or  Regard  for  me  ?     I 


2o8  MEMOIR    OF   EARL   NUGENT 

may  most  certainly  defy,  and  set  at  Naught  all  the  malignant  efforts 
that  mav  be  made  against  me,  but  it  is  a  most  unnatural  thing,  and 
too  absurd  (if  I  can  help  myself)  to  endure,  either  in  ye  Present, 
or  in  any  future  Instance.  If  therefore  any  Justice  is  to  be  done 
this  Man,  you  cannot  wonder  that  I  should  expect  his  being  not 
only  directly  restored  to  what  was  before,  but  that  he  may  receive 
some  Time  hence  farther  Marks  of  favour  as  an  amends  for  what 
he  has  already  suffer'd. 

In  Regard  to  what  you  are  pleas'd  to  say  concerning  the 
Continuance  of  ye  duke  of  Newcastle  in  his  present  Scituation,  I 
have  perhaps  contributed  my  endeavours  more  than  he  ever  be- 
lieved, and  more  than  I  care  whether  he  ever  knows  or  not,  to 
keep  him  there,  &  at  Conjunctures  when  he  has  thought  me  most 
adverse.  But  whatever  you  or  I  may  think  most  honest  to  wish, 
or  whatever  we  might  be  disposed  to  do  for  him,  I  may  venture  to 
pronounce  will  not  prevent  his  fall,  or  Confusion  to  the  Kings 
Affairs  ;  without  an  Early  and  great  decision  of  his  own,  as  well 
as  his  Masters,  in  which  whether  I  may  have  any  Concern  or  not, 
(so  far  as  it  may  affect  myself  only)  is  matter  of  inconceivable 
Indifference  to  me. 

I  am,  Dr  Sr, 
Yr  obliged  &  faithfull  humble  Servt, 

Egmont. 

P.S.  I  did  not  receive  yr  Letter  of  Thursday  till  this  morning. 


Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,857. 
f.  526. 

Bristol,  August  1st,  1755. 
My  Dear  Lord  Duke, 

The  Letter  with  which  your  Grace  honoured  me  this 
Day  had  every  Effect  I  hoped  from  it.  I  first  shewd  it  to  a 
chosen  Few ;  and,  by  their  Advice  and  Persuasion,  had  it  read 
aloud  to  upwards  of  two  Hundred  of  your  Grace's  Brethren  of 
the  Union.  They  answered  with  a  Bumper  and  a  loud  Huzza. 
They  insisted  upon  having  it  inroUd  with  their  Records,  but  when 
I  beggd  to  be  excused  from  giving  up  the  Letter,  They  would 
have  been  contented  with  a  Copy,  I  thought  this  second  Request 
equally  improper  to  be  complyd  with,  without  your  Grace's 
express  Leave.  I  shall  have  the  Honour  of  waiting  on  your 
Grace  at  the  Board  on  Wednesday,  when  I  hope  to  have  an 
opportunity  of  communicating  some  Things  to  you  not  unworthy 
of  your   x\ttention,  and  of   congratulating   your    Grace    upon  a 


LETTERS 


209 


further  Pros^ress  in  what  has  been  so  fortunately  be2;un.  That  I 
may  have  many  opportunities  and  occasions  of  a  like  Nature,  is 
the  hearty  wish  of,  my  Dear  Lord  Duke 

your  Grace's  most  faithful 

and  obedient  Servant, 

R.  Nugent. 

Endorsed^  Bristol,  Aug.  1,  175^.     Mr.  Nugent.      Rd.  4th. 

Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,860. 
f.  389- 

Mr.  Nugent  sends  his  Compliments  to  the  Duke  of  Newcastle, 
and   takes  the   Liberty  to   inform  his  Grace  of  a  Circumstance 

relating  to  Mr.  C Townshend,  necessary  for  Him  to  know. 

Mr.  Nugent  has  been  told  that  a  Reelection  at  Yarmouth  will 
be  attended  with  great  Difficulties  and  Hazard. 

Thursday. 

Endorsed,  November  6th,  1755.     Mr.  Nugent. 

Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,866. 
Vol.  clxxxi.  f.  326.      (Copy.) 

Claremont,  July  31,  1756. 

Dear  Sir, 

I  must  take  the  Liberty  to  trouble  you,  as  usual,  with  My 
best  Compliments  to  My  good  Friends  and  Brethren  of  the  Union 
Club.  Their  distinguish'd  Zeal  for  His  Majesty,  and  His 
Government,  and  for  the  Support  of  the  Whig  Cause  ;  Their 
Friendship  and  Regard  for  you,  and  Their  Goodness  to  Me,  must 
engage  My  warmest  Wishes  for  their  Prosperity  and  Success  ; 
and  I  depend  upon  the  Knowledge  You  have  of  my  Sincere 
Esteem  for  Theirs,  and  Gratitude  for  the  Favors,  They  have 
shew'd  Me  ; — That  you  will  assure  them,  of  all  the  Service  that 
I  may  be  able  to  do  them. 

I  heartily  wish.  That  It  had  been  in  My  Power  to  have  added 
to  the  Joy  of  your  Meeting,  in  Commemoration  of  the  Happy 
Day  when  His  Majesty's  Royal  Family  came  to  reign  over  us, 
by  congratulating  you,  upon  the  Success  of  His  Majesty's  Arms 
in  Defence  of  the  Rights  and  Possessions  of  His  Majesty's  Crown, 
and  the  Trade  and  Commerce  of  His  Subjects.  As  His  Majesty 
has  done  Every  Thing  on  His  Part,  To  promote  the  Interest  of 
His  People,  and  to  defend  Them  in  all  their  just  Rights  and 
Privileges ;  We  may  have  the  firmest  Dependence,  That  no 
Misfortune,  (to  whatever  Cause  it  may  be  to  be  assigned),  will 

p 


210  MEMOIR    OF   EARL   NUGENT 

divert  the  King  from  the  same  great  Pursuit,  and  It  is  to  be 
hoped  by  the  Blessing  of  God  on  His  Majesty's  Arms,  The 
Success  may  answer  His  Majesty's  great  Views  and  Expectations, 
and  the  Earnest  Wishes  of  all  His  Faithful  Subjects,  &  Good 
Friends  to  their  Countrey.  I  am,  Dear  Sr,  with  the  greatest 
Respect  and  Affection 

Your  Most  Obedient 
Humble  Servant, 

HoLLEs  Newcastle. 
Honble.  Robert  Nugent,  Esq. 

Endorsed,  Copy  to  Mr.  Nugent,  July  31st,  1756. 

Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,866. 
Vol.  clxxxi.  f.  324.     (Copy.) 

Claremont,  July  315/,  1756. 

Dear  Nugent, 

I  hazard  the  Enclosed  Letter  to  your  Discretion.  You 
see  I  have  touched  upon  a  Ticklish  Point,  I  must  therefore  insist, 
That  you  neither  let  a  Copy  be  taken  of  it,  nor  Extract  from  it. 
I  should  even  wish.  That  It  might  not  be  read  in  Publick,  and 
only  shew'd  by  you  to  some  particular  Friends  of  the  Club, — & 
the  Substance  of  it  mentioned  by  you  in  Discourse  to  Others. — I 
thought  I  could  not  avoid  touching  upon  the  Loss  of  Minorca  ; 
I  thought  it  not  fair,  to  lay  the  Loss  Expressly  upon  Byng,  Tho' 
there  it  will,  &  must  be  laid,  and  there  only.  I  would  not 
answer  for  the  Regaining  it, — and  yet  I  have  said  enough.  To 
shew  We  intend  to  do  our  best  everywhere.  I  beg  you  would 
make  My  particular  Compliments  to  My  Friend  Mr.  Tucker,  I 
am  truly  sensible  of  His  great  Merit,  and  what  is  much  more  to 
the  Purpose,  The  King  is  so  too.  If  I  don't  point  out  any 
particular  Preferment,  It  is.  Because  I  would  not  disappoint  Him. 
The  Deanry  of  Bristol,  or  Gloucester,  was  what  He  seemed  to 
wish  for  ;  That  of  Bristol  is  absolutely  engaged  to  Dr.  Warburton, 
at  the  Recommendation  of  Sir  John  Legonier,  &  the  Attorney 
Genl. — I  don't  love  to  make  promises  or  Engagements,  but  you 
may  assure  Mr.  Tucker,  That  I  will  endeavour  to  serve  Him  as 
soon  as  I  can,  consistently  with  My  Prior  Engagements.  I  will 
talk  This  Matter  fully  over  to  you, — when  we  meet.     I  am. 

Dear  Nugent, 

Ever  most  Sincerely  Yours 

HoLLEs  Newcastle. 

Mr.  Nugent. 

Endorsed,  Copy  to  Mr.  Nugent,  July  31st,  1756. 


LETTERS  211 

Gosfield,  August  ^d,  i'/j6. 
Newcastle  Papers,  Add.    ^IS.  32,867. 
f.  193. 

My  Dear  Lord  Duke, 

The  enclosed  Letters  will  explain  to  your  Grace  the 
Cause  of  our  Friends  Silence  ;  Their  mouths  were  full  of  Turtle, 
and  if  you  come  in  the  second  Place  it  is  as  much  as  I  can  hope 
for  you.  Their  Address  will  I  dare  flatter  myself  partake  of  their 
Diet,  for  Turtle  is  wont  to  inspire  warm,  kind,  and  vigorous 
sensations,  when  the  Bristol  Petitions  are  presented,  will  it  not 
be  right  to  try  what  can  be  done  at  Liverpool  ?  I  have  many 
Friends  there,  and  among;  Them  one  who  tho  a  Dissenter  and  a 
good  Whig,  is  a  leading  man  among  the  Tories.  He  has  been 
much  neglected,  but  He  still  professes  much  Friendship  for  me.  I 
shall  talk  this  matter  over  with  your  Grace  when  I  attend  you  in 
Town  next  Wednesday,  as  I  suppose  that  Day  still  remains  fixd 
for  our  meeting.  Is  not  Tucker  a  fine  Fellow  ?  He  deserves  a 
Bishoprick.  It  will  be  best  not  to  mention  the  story  of  the 
Pretender,  and  I  wish  it  were  not  mentioned  at  Bristol,  as  it  will 
be  thought  a  Desire  of  ours  to  be  revenged  on  Smith.  If  our 
Friends  do  as  They  ought,  and  I  dare  say  They  will,  indeed  They 
shoud  be  extricated  out  of  the  Difficulties  in  which  They  are 
now  plunged  bv  their  zeal  for  the  Whig-Cause.  This  will 
confirm  Them  ours  for  ever,  and  sure  They  are  worth  keeping, 
you  say  nothing  of  Lord  Egmont's  man,  nor  of  the  merchants 
Petition  relating  to  the  Gun-Powder.  I  hope  your  Grace  has 
not  mislaid  it,  and  that  I  shall  have  it  when  I  come  to  town.  I 
have  a  Letter  from  Frederick  upon  that  Subject,  in  no  Degree 
satisfactory.  Your  Grace's  Letter  is  much  more  than  I  can 
deserve.  If  I  did  not  wish  you  personally  well,  as  I  really  do,  I 
shoud  still  think  myself  in  Honour  obli2;ed  to  act  consistently 
with  my  former  Professions,  and  to  demonstrate  myself  in  the 
Day  of  Tryal  my  Dear  Lord  Duke 

Your  Grace's  faithful 

and  most  obedient  Servt. 

R.  Nugent. 

you  will  see  by  a  former  Letter  of  Tucker's  how  the  Address 
from  the  Tories  was  obtaind.  I  think  it  upon  the  whole  a  lucky 
event. 

Endorsed,  Gosfield,  Sep.  3d,  1856.     Mr.  Nugent.     Rd.  5. 


212  MEMOIR    OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,866. 
Vol.  clxxxi.  f.  347. 

Bristol,  August  ^d,  i'/^6. 

My  Dear  Lord  Duke, 

I  found  our  Friends  here  in  much  better  Dispositions 
than  I  had  Reason  to  hope  for  from  what  I  had  heard  before  I 
came.  They  feel  the  Loss  of  minorca  in  common  with  all  others, 
but  not  with  that  Dejection  of  spirit  which  disgraces  London, 
nor  do  they  ascribe  it  to  the  same  absurd  and  improbable  Causes. 
You  will  easily  believe  my  best  Endeavours  have  not  been  unem- 
ployed in  confirming  and  extending  this  rational  and  manly 
Temper  in  my  Constituents,  and  for  this  Purpose,  I  shall  stay 
among  Them  some  Days  longer  than  I  at  first  proposed,  and  not 
return  to  London  sooner  than  will  be  necessary  to  attend  your 
Grace  at  the  Board  on  Wednesday  the  nth  Inst,  as  I  understand 
it  will  be  inconvenient  for  Sir  George  Lyttleton  to  be  then 
present.  If  the  Humour  of  instructing  members  shoud  revive,  as 
is  threatened  in  other  Places,  I  dare  promise  myself  such  Instruc- 
tions from  this  City  as  I  shall  follow  with  very  great  Pleasure, 
and  after  the  Royal  Family  and  Success  to  his  majestv's  Arms, 
your  Grace's  Health  was  drunk  in  a  bumper,  by  Two  Hundred 
particidnr  Friends,  at  our  yesterday's  Entertainment,  where  your 
Letter  was  not  read  in  Public,  altho'  it  might  have  been  with 
many  good  Effects  and  without  any  bad  one,  for  without  Flattery 
nothing  could  be  better  writ  upon  the  Occasion,  and  to  demonstrate 
to  your  Grace  that  I  do  not  mean  to  flatter  you,  I  will  make  you 
no  Compliments  upon  the  Letter  which  accompanyd  it,  and  which 
fell  so  very  short  of  my  very  reasonable  Expectations  for  Doctor 
Tucker,  and  of  what  He  deserves  of  your  Grace,  that  for  both 
your  sakes  I  would  not  shew  it  to  Him.  Indeed,  my  Dear  Lord 
Duke,  a  faithful  and  an  efficient  Friend  should  at  no  Time  have 
been  treated  as  this  poor  man  has  been,  and  the  Circumstances  of 
this  Time  do  not  make  it  better  Policy  at  present.  I  know  no 
man  in  England,  without  Exception,  more  capable  of  serving  you 
with  his  Pen  than  He  is.  If  your  Grace  does,  I  wish  He  were 
employed  as  well  as  rewarded,  for  such  are  certainly  wanting. 
Forgive  this  Freedom  my  Dear  Lord  Duke  in  one  who  if  He  did 
not  feel  upon  this  occasion  must  have  a  greater  Indifference  for 
your  Service  than  ever  shall  be  found  in,  my  Dear  Lord  Duke, 

Your  Grace's  faithful 

and  most  obedient  Servt. 

R.  Nugent. 

Endorsed,  Bristol,  August  3d,  1756.     Mr.  Nugent.     Rd.  5th, 


LETTERS  213 

Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,866. 
Vol.  clxxxi.  f.  456. 

Gosfield,  August  ijth,  1756. 

My  Dear  Lord  Duke, 

If  your  Grace  approves  the  inclosed  Letters,  let  them  be 
seald  and  sent  to  the  Post.  I  choose  that  the  meeting  of  our 
Friends  should  be  desired,  in  Hopes  you  may  be  able  to  contrive 
Things  so  as  to  preserve  Them  in  good  Humour  and  bind  Them 
stil  faster  to  you.  of  this  your  Grace  is  much  a  better  Judge  than  I 
am,  but  I  mean  it  honestly  for  your  Service,  and  if  They  were 
once  extricated  out  of  those  Difficulties  in  which  a  Few  have 
plunged  the  whole  Body,  I  know  no  other  Cause  that  can  possiblv 
disunite  them.  I  wish  your  Grace  Joy  of  the  Decision  of  the 
Court  martial,  which  has  proved  more  conformable  to  my  wishes 
than  I  had  Reason  to  hope  from  the  Liformation  given  me.  The 
Proceedin2:s  of  the  City  of  London  will  I  am  assured  be  more 
moderate  than  was  at  first  apprehended,  but  a  shew  of  moderation 
may  possiblv  be  only  meant  to  reconcile  and  unite  unprejudiced 
People  to  the  measures  of  the  more  violent  and  Designing.  If  an 
Address  of  another  stamp  from  the  Corporation  of  Bristol  be 
thought  expedient,  I  shall  be  ready  to  obey  your  Commands  in 
this,  as  in  all  other  Things  that  can  demonstrate  the  truth  and 
zeal  with  which  I  am,  my  Dear  Lord  Duke, 

Your  Grace's  faithful 

and  most  obedient  Servt. 

R.    NUGEXT. 

Endorsed,  Gosfield,  August  15th,  1756.    Mr.  Nugent.     Rd.  i6th. 


Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,866. 
f.458.    (Copy.) 

Gosjieldi  Aug.  ijth,  1756. 

Dear  Sir, 

I  write  to  the  Committee  by  this  Post,  to  inform  Them 
of  what  has  passed,  between  My  Lord  Granville,  and  Me,  upon 
the  Subject  of  Their  Message  to  Him  Relative  to  the  Petition  ; 
and  I  give  it  as  my  opinion,  They  had  better  defer  The  Meeting 
of  our  Friends,  untill  Mr.  Spencer's  Arrival,  which  will  be  in  a 
few  Days. 

I  have  no  news,  to  send  you,  at  this  Distance,  which  must 
have  reach'd  you  sooner  Than  This  Letter  can.  But  I  cannot 
Close  it  without  requesting  You  to  Assure  your  worthy,  and 
Respectable  Brethren,  of  my  unalterable  Attachment  to  Them  ; 


214  MEMOIR    OF   EARL   NUGENT 

and  that  I  have  not  failed  to  represent,  in  its  proper  Light,  The 
Excellent  Temper,  and  Disposition  in  which  I  found,  and  left, 
The  Mayor,  and  Aldermen  of  Bristol ;  Deserving  the  Approba- 
tion ;  and  Imitation,  of  Every  Corporate  Body  in  This  Kingdom. 
I  must  confess,  Altho'  I  wish  Every  Individual  of  His  Majesty's 
Subject  may  do  right.  It  is  no  small  Pleasure  to  me.  That  my 
Constituents  should  be  more  in  the  Right,  than  any  other  Body 
of  People,  and  That  The  City  of  Bristol,  tho'  only  the  Second 
'in  Wealth  and  Numbers,  should  be  the  first  in  other  Respects, 
still  more  valuable  than  these,  with  a  Magistracy  at  Her  Head,  in 
which  There  does  not  exist  One  Man,  who  is  not  an  Approved 
Friend  to  His  King,  and  Country. 

This  Our  Gracious  Monarch  knows,  and  our  Noble,  and  good, 
Friend,  The  Duke  of  Newcastle,  has  Faithfully  reported  to  Him, 
Every  Thing  I  have  said  upon  This  subject.     I  am 

Dr.  Sir,  and  ever  shall  remain 
Your,  and  Your  worthy  Brethren's, 

Most  faithful  &  Affectionate  Servant, 

R.  Nugent. 

Henry  Dampier,  Esq. 

Endorsed,  Copy  of  a  Letter  from  Mr.  Nugent  to  the  Mayor  of 
Bristol,  Goslield,  Aug.  i^th,  1756. 

Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,166. 
f.  460.     (Copy.) 

Gosfield,  Aug.  i^th,  1756. 
Sirs, 

I  had  not  an  Opportunity  of  Discharging  Your  Com- 
mission, to  My  Lord  Granville,  until  the  very  Moment  I  was 
setting  my  Foot  in  my  Chaise,  to  come  to  This  Place  ;  And,  as  by 
His  Answer,  Referring  you  to  Mr.  Spencer,  who  will  be  in  London 
in  a  Few  Days,  I  found  it  would  not  be  proper  to  come  to  any 
Determination,  without  a  previous  Application  to  Him  ;  I  defer'd 
writing  until  my  Arrival  here.  At  the  same  Time,  That  you 
Apply  to  Mr.  Spencer,  for  The  Three  Thousand  Pounds,  I 
suppose  you  will  think  it  right.  To  lay  open  to  Him  the  Expences 
already  incurred  ;  The  Debt  now  due  by  you,  and  The  Impossi- 
bility of  raising,  by  Subscription,  a  Sufficient  Sum  to  carry  on  a 
Petition  in  the  House  of  Commons.  When  you  have  His  Answer, 
it  will  then,  and,  in  My  Opinion,  not  till  then,  be  the  proper 
Time,  for  A  Meeting,  to  take  the  whole  Matter  under  your 
Consideration.  I  do  not  write  News  to  you,  which  you  must  have 
£rom  London,  sooner  than  this  Letter  can  reach  you. 


LETTERS  215 

Mr.  Bvng's  Trval  will  be  brought  on,  as  soon  as  the  officers 
can  be  recalled,  from  the  Mediterranean  ;  whom  He  has  com- 
manded as  Witnesses.  When  That  happens,  The  Cause  of  That 
Misfortune,  which  we  all  lament,  must  appear  in  its  True  Light. 
Those,  who  feel  Themselves  Blameless,  must  no  Doubt,  be  as 
impatient  for  This  Explanation,  as  the  most  clamorous  Petitioners 
for  an  Enquiry,  can  possibly  be.  But  God  forbid,  That  any  Man, 
however  criminal,  should  be  refused  any  Legal  Means,  which.  He 
may  think  necessary,  for  His  Defence.  It  has  been  a  sensible 
Pleasure  to  me,  and  I  have  boasted  of  it  with  Pride,  for  my 
Constituents,  That  the  whigs  of  Bristol,  at  the  same  Time,  That 
Thev  are  sensible  of  the  Loss  of  Minorca,  bear  it  with  the 
Firmness,  That  becomes  Brave  Men  -,  and  are  not  Transported 
into  Absurd  Notions  ;  which,  in  general,  are  propagated  bv  The 
Bad,  and  believed  by  The  Weak.  That  Thev  may,  upon  every 
Occasion,  Distinguish  Themselves  as  much  to  Their  Honour,  as 
They  do  upon  This,  in  the  opinion  of  Every.  Unprejudiced  well- 
wisher  to  His  Kine,  and  Country  ;  will,  I  make  no  Doubt,  be 
your  Endeavour,  and  is  the  hearty  Prayer  of,  Sirs, 

Your  most  faithful,  & 

Affectionate  Servant 

Union  Committee.  R.  Nugent. 

Endorsed,    Copy   of  a    Letter    from    ]Mr.    Nugent   to  the    Union 
Committee. 

Gosfield,  Aug.  i^th,  1756. 

Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,866. 
fol.  470. 

Gosfield,  August  17,  1756. 

My  Dear  Lord  Duke, 

I  send  your  Grace  the  enclosed  Letter  from  Lord  E^mont, 
which  if  it  strikes  you  as  it  does  me  will  not  displease  you.  It 
opens  I  think  a  way  to  the  Negociation,  which  surely  ought  not 
to  be  neglected  or  delayed.  Terms  rather  unreasonable  when  you 
treated  with  Him  before,  shoud  in  my  poor  opinion  not  be  refused 
now.  If  your  Grace  thinks  my  Letter  may  be  of  any  Service, 
order  it  to  be  forwarded  ;  if  not,  burnt.  Be  pleased  to  return  me 
his  Letter,  and  believe  me  as  I  really  am,  my  Dear  Lord  Duke, 

Your  Grace's  most  faithful 

and  most  obedient  sen't, 

R.  Nugent. 
Endorsed,  Aug.  17th,  1756.     Mr.  Nugent. 


2i6  MEMOIR    OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,867. 
f.  30. 

Gosfie/d,  August  2^th,  1756. 

My  Dear  Lord  Duke, 

I  received  the  enclosed  Letters  since  I  last  writ  to  your 
Grace.  And  I  have  informed  Lord  Egmont  that  I  woud  transmit 
to  you  the  Letter  from  Bridgewater,  and  that  I  made  no  Doubt 
when  your  Grace  returned  from  Sussex,  of  having:  such  an 
Answer  as  will  be  agreable  to  his  Friends,  if  the  Place  be  not 
already  promised  at  Dodington's  Recommendation.  Knowing; 
that  some  Place  belonging  to  that  Borough  has  been  so  promised. 
I  mentioned  this  Circumstance  to  obviate  all  suspicion  of  Unkind- 
ness  if  the  Fact  shoud  be  that  your  Grace  is  previously  engaged. 

When  ever  your  Grace  shall  be  prepared  with  sure  and 
practicable  Ground  for  Negociation,  I  shall  be  willing  and  ready 
to  execute  vour  Commands.  Altho  I  really  think  the  Baron  as 
proper  a  Person  as  can  be  emplovd. 

When  vou  formerly  treated  with  Ld  Egmont,  a  Peerage  for  his 
Son  was,  as  I  have  been  told,  his  object,  but  whether  his  marriage 
may  not  induce  him  now  to  substitute  some  other  Consideration 
in  the  Room  of  that,  deserves  to  be  attended  to  in  forming  those 
Proposals  which  you  mean  shoud  be  offerd  to  Him.  For  I  am 
very  doubtful  whether  He  will  have  Confidence  sufficient  in  any 
Friend  of  your  Grace,  to  trust  Him  with  an  Overture  upon  what 
He  may  be  willing  to  accept,  until  He  can  be  sure  of  having  it. 
and  indeed  my  Lord,  if  He  can  not  be  made  absolutely  sure 
without  dallying  and  Delay,  it  will  be  much  better  let  Things 
remain  as  they  are.  The  Time  is  short,  and  He  thinks,  tho' 
without  just  Grounds,  that  He  has  already  been  trifled  with. 
Tucker  is  your  Grace's  Servant  for  Life.  I  have  a  Letter  from 
Him  full  of  Gratitude  and  Thanks.  If  any  Thing  can  be  done 
for  Bristol,  it  shoud  be  done  very  soon,  before  our  Friends  meet 
and  quarrel.  They  will  meet  as  soon  as  They  hear  from  Mr. 
Spencer,  and  They  will  as  surely  fall  out  among  Themselves  when 
They  do  meet,  and  if  They  shoud  become  Lukewarm  and  out 
of  Humour,  They  may  not  be  so  easily  manageable  in  other 
Things  as  They  now  are.  I  write  to  your  Grace  with  an  Arm 
that  has  been  just  now  let  Blood  for  a  feverish  Disorder.  But  as  I 
find  myself  much  better  since  the  Operation,  I  hope  in  a  very 
few  Days  to  be  able  to  obey  any  Commands  your  Grace  shall 
have  for,  my  Dear  Lord  Duke, 

Your  Grace's  most  faithful 

and  obedient  Servant, 

R.  Nugent. 

Endorsed,  Gosfield,  Aug.  24th,  1756.     INIr.  Nugent. 


LETTERS  217 

Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,867. 
f.  52. 

Gosfield,  August  25M,  1756. 
My  Dear  Lord  Duke, 

Your  Grace  will  I  fear  grow  tired  of  seeing  mv  Hand,  \{ 
my  Letters  shoud  be  as  long  as  they  have  been.  This  therefore 
shall  be  a  short  one,  and  is  only  meant,  while  it  encloses  the  two 
Letters  I  received  from  Knox,  to  inform  your  Grace  that  Tucker 
thinks  the  Tories  will  be  for  an  Address  in  the  same  stile  with 
that  of  London,  and  that  He  and  some  other  of  our  Friends  are  of 
opinion  it  will  be  better  not  to  oppose  the  Proposition  for  an 
Address  in  absolute  and  peremptory  Terms,  but  to  urge  it  will  be 
proper  to  stay  until  Byng's  Tryal  is  over,  and  then  to  make  the 
Discoveries  which  may  appear  the  Foundation.  I  entirely  agree 
with  Knox  that  our  Friends  will  not  intermiddle  without  a  Hint 
from  me,  and  do  not  perceive  the  utility  of  making  the  Concession 
Tucker  mentions.  I  shall  therefore  upon  second  Thoughts  add 
to  the  Bulk  of  this  Pacquet,  and  a  Letter  to  Tucker  for  your 
Grace  to  dispose  of  as  you  shall  think  proper.  Sr  Thomas 
Robinson  is  here,  and  presents  his  best  Respects.  He  will  be  in 
Town  early  on  Friday.  I  have  not  exactly  observed  the  Promise 
with  which  I  be2;un  this  Letter,  but  however  I  may  err  by  Excess, 
I  never  will  by  stopping  short  in  any  Act  by  which  I  can 
demonstrate  my  Self,  my  Dear  Lord  Duke, 

Your  Grace's  faithful 

and  most  obedient  Servant, 

R.  NUGEN'T. 

Knox  is  one  of  the  chief  merchants  at  Bristol. 

Endorsed,  Gosfield,  Aug.  25,  1756.     Mr.  Xugenr.      Rd.  27th. 


Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,867. 
f.  125. 

Gosjield,  August  2StIi,  1756. 
My  Dear  Lord  Duke, 

I  have  orderd  the  messenger  to  proceed  on  to  your  Grace 
with  the  enclosed  Pacquet,  it  will  inform  you  of  what  has  been 
done  by  our  Enemies,  and  you  will  see  what  I  do  to  ward  the 
Blow,  if  you  approve,  send  the  whole  or  any  Part  by  Express  to 
Bristol,  under  Cover  to  the  Post-master  in  my  Name,  you  may 
place  an  entire  Confidence  in  Tucker  and  add  to,  or  take  from 
ray  Instructions  to  Him  as  your  Grace  shall  think  proper.  I  wish 
you  coud  have  enabled  me  to  arm  our  Trusty  Friends  with  some- 


2i8  MEMOIR   OP^   EARL   NUGENT 

thing  more  powerful  than  words  upon  a  Body  of  men  already- 
exhausted,  and  subject  to  great  and  pressing  Demands.  I  have 
not  been  wanting  on  my  Part  to  warn  your  Grace  of  the  Necessity 
of  this  measure.  All  that  your  best  Friends  can  do  is  to  serve  you 
with  the  means  in  their  Power  to  use,  and  as  far  as  these  go,  your 
Grace  may  depend  upon  the  Service  of  my  Dear  Lord  Duke, 

your  Grace's  most  faithful 
and  obedient  Servant, 

R.  Nugent. 
Be  please  to  turn. 

I  had  like  to  have  forgot  sending  you  the  Address  from  the 
merchants  which  I  beg  may  be  carefully  returnd,  with  your 
Grace's  Directions  to  me  upon  it. 

Endorsed,  Mr.  Nugent,  Gosheld  Hall,  Aug.  28,  i7j6. 

Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,867. 

Gosfield,  August  30,  1756. 
My  Dear  Lord  Duke, 

I  have  just  now  received  the  inclosed  Copy  of  an  Address 
from  my  Collegue  Mr.  Smith,  with  a  kind  Invitation  to  accompany 
him  to  Kensington  to  present  it.  I  send  you  a  Copy  of  my 
Answer,  together  with  Letters  to  the  Union-Committee  and  the 
mayor  of  Bristol,  which  I  beg  you  will  forward  by  an  Express  if 
you  approve  of  Them.  Our  Friends  are  fond  of  Expresses,  and 
They  will  think  me  the  more  in  Earnest.  I  am,  my  Dear  Lord 
Duke, 

Your  Grace's  most  faithful 
and  obedient  Servt, 

R.  Nugent. 

What  am  I  to  say  to  Egmont  about  his  Boatman  ?  Tucker 
informs  me  that  the  Tories  were  obli2;ed  to  so  from  Door  to  Door 
for  Names  to  their  Address,  and  that  all  the  moderate  ones 
declared  against  it,  even  Smith  who  is  not  to  present  it. 

Endorsed,  Gosfield,  Aug.  30th,  1756.     Mr.  Nugent.     Rd.  31st. 

Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,867. 

[Copy  of  my  Answer  to  Mr.  Jarrit  Smith.] 

August  ^oth,  I7j6.     ' 
Sir, 

As  you  have  not  favourd  me  with  any  of  their  Names  who 
have  signed  the  Address  of  which  you  have  been  pleasd  to  send  me 


LETTERS  219 

a  Copy,  and  as  I  have  not  received  the  Sentiments  of  any  one  ot 
my  very  numerous  Friends  and  Correspondents  at  Bristol  upon  it, 
you  doubtless  do  not  expect,  by  the  Return  of  your  messenger,  a 
positive  Answer  from  me.  when  I  shall  be  properly  informd,  with 
any  Decree  of  Certainty,  of  the  real  Sentiments  of  the  Gentlemen, 
Clergy,  merchants  and  other  principal  Inhabitants  of  the  City  of 
Bristol,  I  shall  act  a  Part  becoming  of  their  Representative,  and  of 
one  indebted  merely  to  their  good  will  for  being  so.  I  am,  Sir,  with 
much  Regard,  etc. 

Endorsed,  Goslield,  Aug.  30th,  1756.     Mr.  Nugent  to  Mr.  Smith. 


Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,867. 


f.  328. 


Gosfield,  Sept.  ^th,  1756. 


My  Dear  Lord  Duke, 

I  thought  it  woud  not  be  displeasing  to  you  to  read  the 
plain,  honest  and  warm  Sentiments  of  our  Friends  at  Bristol. 
That  you  may  find  many  such  all  over  England  is  the  hearty 
wish  of  my  Dear  Lord   Duke 

your  Grace's  faithful 

and  most  obedient  Servt, 

R.  Nugent. 

I  hope  the  King  will  say  something  when  I  present  the 
Addresses  that  will  tell  well  at  Bristol,  prepare  Him  for  them.  I 
shall  present  them  on  Thursday. 

To  His  Grace  the  Duke  of  Newcastle. 

Endorsed,  Gosheld,  Sept.  5,  1756.     Mr.  Nugent. 

Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,867. 
f.  270. 

Gosjie/d,  Sept.  loth,  1756. 
My  Dear  Lord  Duke, 

I  send  your  Grace  a  Copy  of  the  Address  from  Bristol, 
signed  by  many  Hundreds.  I  hope  you  will  think  it  free  from 
the  objections  to  which  the  Paper  I  last  sent  you  was  certainly 
lyable.  with  your  Grace's  Leave  I  will  present  it  on  monday  next, 
and  if  you  think  it  proper  to  have  it  inserted  in  the  Gazette,  you 
will  be  pleasd  to  give  your  orders  accordingly.  I  am,  with  an 
unalterable  Attachment,  my   Dear  Lord   Duke, 

your  Grace's  faithful 

and  most  obedient  Servt, 

R.  Nugent. 

Endorsed,  Gosfield,  Sept.  loth,  1756.     Mr.  Nugent. 


220  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,867. 

f-  365. 

Gus/ie/d,  Sept.  21,  1756. 
My  Dear  Lord  Duke, 

Mr.  Knox,  the  warmest  and  most  efficient  Friend  we  have 
at  Bristol,  will  present  a  memorial  for  Relief  in  a  Case  of  extreme 
Hardship  to  Him,  and  many  others  of  your  Grace's  well-wishers, 
your  Grace  will  be  more  inclined  to  grant  his  Request,  as  it  may 
be  of  Advantage  to  the  Public,  at  the  same  Time  that  it  gives  a 
Chance  to  innocent  Sufferers,  for  the  Recovery  of  some  Part  of 
their  Loss.     I  am,  my  Dear  Lord  Duke, 

your  Grace's  most 

faithful  and  obedient  Servt, 
R.  Nugent. 
This  matter  requires  immediate  Dispatch. 

Endorsed,  Gosfield,  Sept.  21st,  1756.     Mr.  Nugent. 


Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,871. 
f.  159. 

Cheltenham,  May  28th,  1757. 
My  Dear  Lord  Duke, 

I  have  just  now  received  a  Letter  from  my  Servant  in 
London  to  inform  me  that  your  Grace  wanted  to  know  how  to 
direct  to  me.  I  came  to  this  Place  two  Days  ago  to  visit  Sr 
William  Stanhope,  and  shall  be  in  Town  on  Tuesday,  ready  to 
obey  any  Commands  you  shall  have  for  my  Dear  Lord  Duke 

your  Grace's  faithful 

and  most  obedient  Servant, 

R.  Nugent. 

Endorsed,  Cheltenham,  May  28th,  1757.     Mr.  Nugent. 


Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,878. 
f.  116. 

My  Dear  Lord, 

I  coud  not  let  your  Grace  go  out  of  Town,  without 
discharging  my  Debt  of  Thanks  for  the  share  of  Concern  you 
have  been  pleasd  to  take  in  the  '  Health  of  a  faithful  humble 
Servant.  I  am  now  much  better  tho  not  free  from  Fever,  and 
an  other  very  uneasy  Disorder  attending  it. 

The  Dean  of  Gloucester  is  dead,  and  as  your  Grace  told  me 
there  had  been  some  solicitors  for  his  Preferment  upon  a  vacancy, 
I  thought  it  best  to  give  your  Grace  early  Notice  of  it,  that  a 


LETTERS  221 

speedy  Nomination  of  Doctor  Tucker  may  save  you  from  further 
Importunity.     I  am  with  unalterable  Attachment,  my  Dear  Lord, 

Your  Grace's  ever  obedient 

and  devoted  Servant, 

R.  Nugent. 

Spring  Gardens,  March  j^th,  1758. 

Endorsed,  March  4th,  1758.  Mr.  Nugent.  (Dr.  Tucker  to  be  Dean 
of  Gloucester.) 

Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,879. 
f.  406. 

My  Lord, 

In  obedience  to  your  Grace's  Commands  I  have  hastily 
thrown  together  a  few  Thoughts  upon  the  Importation  of  Cattle 
from  Ireland.  They  will  I  hope  be  sufficient,  and  I  propose  no 
more,  to  set  your  Grace  a  thinking  upon  the  Subject.  If  it  appears 
to  you  as  it  does  to  me,  I  shall  be  in  no  Pain  for  the  Bill,  as  I  am 
convinced  from  my  Knowledge  of  your  Grace,  that  no  personal 
Connections  can  have  Influence  with  you  where  the  Intrest  of 
our  Country  is  concernd.  I  am,  with  an  inviolable  Attachment, 
my  Lord, 

your  Grace's  faithful 

and  most  obedient  Servt, 

R.  Nugent. 

Richmond,  May  <\th,  1758. 

Endorsed,  Richmond,  ]\Iay  4th,  1758.    Mr.  Nugent.    (Irish  Cattle.) 

The  Price  of  lean  Cattle  had  been  risins;  for  many  years  before 
the  Distemper  :  Runts  that  used  to  be  sold  at  thirty  shillings 
a  Head,  five  and  twenty  years  ago,  rose  to  fifty,  and  are  now 
much  dearer.  They  were  dearer  in  England  last  year  than  ever 
was  known,  altho  the  Distemper  had  ceasd  and  Fodder  was 
scarce. 

The  Price  of  Beef  has  not  kept  Pace  with  the  advanced  Price 
of  lean  Cattle  ;  and  many  Farmers,  especially  last  year,  have  been 
deterd  by  this  Circumstance  from  venturing  upon  a  full  stock  for 
their  grounds.  This  has,  more  than  probably,  been  one  Cause  of 
the  Scarcety  and  high  Price  of  Beef  in  the  present  year. 

while  these  Causes  subsist,  the  same  Effects  must  follow,  and 
beside  the  Evils  of  an  advanced  Price  upon  universal  Consumption, 
every  Acre  of  grazing  ground  understockd,  creates  a  national  Loss 
of  a  proportionable  Quantity  of  such  Ground,  and  of  fat  Cattle, 


222  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

in  Favour  of  a  small    Gain   to  a  few   Individuals  upon   barren 
Heaths  and  lean  Runts. 

The  disproportionate  Price  which  lean  Cattle  bear  to  fat, 
plainly  arises  from  this  Cause  and  from  no  other  :  The  Improve- 
ments made  by  Inclosures,  foreign  and  home  Grass-Seeds  and 
Turnips  have,  in  numberless  Instances  converted  poor  breeding 
Grounds  into  Pasture,  and  by  Consequence  while  the  Demand 
for  lean  Cattle  is  increasd  by  these  means,  the  stock  to  supply 
that  Demand  is  lessend.  This  Evil  can  only  be  remedyd  by 
opening  an  other  Supply. 

The  Grazier  in  Ireland  has  a  monopoly  upon  the  Breeder,  from 
whence  it  follows  that  the  Price  of  lean  Cattle  is  low  there,  and 
the  breeding  stock  can  never  increase  beyond  the  Demand  of  the 
irish  market,  while  this  monopoly  remains,  the  vast  Tracts  of 
totally  unprofitable  Bogg  and  mountain  in  Ireland  must  remain 
unreclamed  which  in  the  first  stage  of  Improvement,  by  draining 
and  inclosins:,  woud  otherwise  be  made  2;ood  breedino;  Ground. 

In  Scotland  and  Wales  the  Breeder  hath  a  monopoly  upon  the 
Grazier  of  Great  Britain  and  the  Price  of  lean  Cattle  is  by  Con- 
sequence higher  than  in  Ireland.  But  as  all  other  Species,  whether 
of  Produce  or  manufacture,  are  dearer  in  Ireland  than  in  Scotland 
or  wales,  being  a  richer  Country,  it  necessarily  follows  that  the 
Price  of  lean  Cattle  in  those  Parts  of  the  united  Kino-dom  is  dis- 
proportionate  to  all  other  Things  ;  and  while  it  remains  so,  the 
Produce  which  lends  least  to  the  Advantage  of  the  Community,  as 
it  employs  and  maintains  fewest  Hands,  will  be  most  cherishd, 
and  will  exclude  every  other  Production  of  Labour  or  Art,  which 
alone  ever  has  or  ever  can  enrich  a  Country.  The  poor,  lazy  and 
ignorant  owner  of  lean  Cattle  will  conclude,  as  many  now  do^ 
that  barren  mountains  never  can  be  fertilized,  nor  breeding 
Grounds  be  converted  into  Pasture  or  Tilla2:e. 

From  Hence  it  is  evident,  that  as  the  great  Difference  of 
Expence  and  Hazard  in  Conveying  Cattle  by  sea  from  Ireland, 
and  driving  them  by  Land  from  Scotland  and  wales,  must  ever 
operate  in  Favour  of  the  latter  against  the  former,  we  never  shall 
get  any  Cattle  from  Ireland,  except  when  a  real  or  artificial  Scarcety 
raises  their  Price  in  those  Parts  of  the  united  Kingdom  to  a  Pitch 
prejudicial  to  their  real  Intrests.  and  that  one  of  the  good  Effects 
arising  from  an  Importation  of  lean  Cattle  from  Ireland,  will  be 
the  setling  a  juster  Proportion,  in  Scotland  and  wales,  between 
the  value  of  such  Cattle  and  that  of  other  Species  of  Produce  and 
manufacture. 

The    Apprehensions    of  great    Numbers    of   fat    Cattle    being 
imported,  if  an  Evil,  are  vain  and  groundless  3  as  fat  Cattle  woud 


LETTERS  223 

be  exposed  to  more  Accidents  in  Transporation  ;  as  the  Loss  of  one 
fat  Beast  bv  such  Accidents  woud  be  equal  to  two  lean  Beasts  ; 
and  as  the  Profits  upon  importing  lean  Cattle  woud  be  greater 
from  the  higher  proportionate  Price  They  bear  at  our  markets. 

Endorsed,  Mr.  Nugent's  Letter  of  May  4th,  1758. 

Newcastle  Papers^  Add.  MS.  32,890. 
f.  27. 

My  Dear  Lord, 

I  have  had  no  Letter,  except  that  with  which  your  Grace 
has  honourd  me,  concerning;  Sir  William  mavnard's  Determin- 
ation  ;  and  as  it  is  necessary  for  me  to  know  whether  it  be  agreed 
that  his  Friends  shoud  appear  at  the  meeting  which  is  to  be 
appointed  at  Chelmsford,  I  send  this  Letter  by  a  special  messenger, 
and  shall  hope  for  an  Answer  by  tomorrow's  Post,  that  I  may 
form  my  Applications  here  accordingly.  I  had  upon  a  former 
Occasion  en2;a2:ed  many  voters  for  Sir  William  mavnard,  in 
opposition  to  Sir  John  Abdv,  who  were  not  at  all  satisfyd  with 
his  having  then  declined  the  Contest.  They  still  remember  the 
Disappointment,  and  I  much  apprehend  that  some  will  now  take 
the  opportunity  of  resenting  it.  I  shall  do  what  I  can  with 
Them,  and  hope  that  Mr.  Honevwood  and  I  shall  be  able  to  give 
a  good  Account  of  this  End  of  the  County,  in  Conjunction  with 
some  other  Gentlemen,  zealous  Friends  to  Government,  who 
have  not  the  Honour  of  being  known  to  your  Grace.  I  am 
extremely  happy  in  your  Grace's  Approbation  of  the  small  Part 
that  fell  to  mv  share  in  the  House  of  Commons.  I  always  have 
endeavoured,  and  alwavs  shall  endeavour  to  deserve  it,  by  every 
Thins;  that  can  demonstrate  the  sincere  Attachment  with  which 
I  profess  mvself  to  be,  mv  Dear  Lord, 

your  Grace's  faithful 

and  most  obedient  Servant, 
R.  Nugent. 

Gosfield,  April  nth,  1759. 

Endorsed,  Gosfield,  April  nth,  1759.     Mr.  Nugent.     Rd.  12th. 

Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,891. 
f.  283. 

My  Lord, 

I  am  just  now  stepping  into  my  Chaise,  to  accompany 
Lady  Berkeley  to  Eton,  where  Lord  Berkeley  is  somewhat  out 
of  Order,  enough  to  alarm  her  Fears  for  Him.     If  the  Letters 


224  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

that  accompany  this  be  thought  proper  by  your  Grace,  you  will 
be  pleasd  to  order  them  to  be  sent  by  this  Night's  Post,  or  by  an 
Express,  to  Bristol.     I  am  with  the  utmost  Respect  my  Lord, 

Your  Grace's  faithful 

and  most  obedient  Servant, 

R.  Nugent. 
Sprifig  Garden,  May  i\th,  1759. 

Endorsed,  ^l^y  24th,  1759.     Mr.  Nugent. 
Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,900. 

My  Dear  Lord, 

I  came  to  this  Place  last  Night,  set  out  from  hence  this 
morning  for  Bristol,  was  elected  unanimously,  and  am  now 
returnd  to  Dinner  which  waits  for,  my  Dear  Lord, 

Your  Grace's  ever 

faithful  and  most 

obedient  Servant, 

R.  Nugent. 
my  Election  has  not  cost  me  a  single  Dot  of  Ale. 

Bath,  December  26th,  1759. 

Endorsed,  Bath,  December  26th,  1759.     ^^^'  Nugent.     Rd.  29th. 

Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,900.  f 

f-  534- 

My  Dear  Lord, 

your  Grace's  Answer  to  me  yesterday  has  affected  me 
greatly,  as  you  now  seem  determin'd  that  Mr.  Erskine  shall  not 
have  the  Living  of  Fobbing.  I  have  already  explaind  to  your 
Grace  the  peculiar  Circumstances  of  Hardship  that  attend  His 
Case,  and  let  me  earnestly  intreat  you,  before  the  Decision  is 
absolutely  made,  to  consider  the  much  more  cruel  situation  in 
which  I  shall  be  placed,  in  the  near  Neighbourhood  of  a  worthy 
man  ruind  by  the  Confidence  He  reposed  in  what  I  told  Him. 
Ask  your  own  good  Heart  what  it  woud  feel  in  such  Circum- 
stances, and  then  determine  upon  what  must  be  felt  by  my  Dear 
Lord 

Your  Grace's  ever  faithful 

and  most  obedient  Servant, 

R.  Nugent. 
Spring  Garden,  Jan,  30th,  1760- 

Endorsed,  January  30th,  1760.  Mr.  Nugent.  (Living  of  Fobbing.) 


LETTERS  225 

Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,881. 
f.  ^33- 

From  Mr.  Nugent. 

The  Reverend  John  Erskine  to    succeed  Dr.   Hibbins  in  the 
Living  of  Fobbing  in  the  County  of  Essex. 

Endorsed,  Mr.  Nugent.      (For  the  Living  of  Fobbing  in  Essex.) 


Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,904. 
f.  414. 

Mr.  Nugent  sends  his  most  respectful  Compliments  to  the  Duke 
of  Newcastle.  He  received  the  Honor  of  His  Grace's  Card  here, 
where  He  has  been  detaind  by  Gout  and  Rheumatism  ever  since 
last  Wednesday  was  se'ennight.  As  soon  as  He  can  get  rid  of 
these  troublesome  Companions  He  will  in  Person  acknowledge 
The  Honor  His  Grace  was  pleasd  to  attend  Him. 

Gosfie/d,  April  ijth,  1760. 

Endorsed,  Gosfield,  April  17th,  1760.     Mr.  Nugent.     Rd.  28th. 


Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,905. 
f.  327. 

My  Lord, 

I  do  not  wait  upon  your  Grace  as  I  know  you  do  not 
choose  to  be  troubled  with  visits  on  a  Treasury-morning.  Has 
your  Grace  been  pleasd  to  move  The  King  for  Leave  that  I  may 
go  to  Spa,  so  as  to  enable  me  to  kiss  his  majesty's  Hand  this  morn- 
ing, or  if  you  have  not,  woud  it  be  improper  to  hope  for  a  Line 
from  your  Grace  to  the  Lord  of  the  Bed-Chamber  in  waiting  for 
this  Purpose.  I  am  Thus  urgent,  because  if  I  do  not  tomorrow 
kiss  his  Hands  at  Saville  and  Leicester  House,  I  must  wait  a  fort- 
night longer,  and  I  have  Business  which  will  necessarily  call  me 
back  into  England  in  the  month  of  July.  I  am  with  the  most 
sincere  and  respectful  Attachment  my  Dear  Lord 

your  Grace's  faithful 

and  most  obedt  Servt, 

R.  Nugent. 

Spring  Garden,  May  Jth,  1760. 

Endorsed,  May  7th,  1760.     Mr.  Nugent. 

Q 


226  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,907. 
f.  278. 

My  Lord, 

I  had  yesterday  a  Letter  from  my  son  to  inform  me  that 
He  intended  to  apply  to  your  Grace  for  his  majesty's  Leave  to 
serve  this  Campaign  in  our  Navy  In  Germany,  as  there  is  no 
Probability  of  the  Royal  volunteers  being  ordered  abroad.  If  His 
majesty  shoud  be  graciously  pleasd  to  grant  his  Request,  may  I 
beg  Leave  earnestly  to  intreat  your  Grace  that  you  will  honor 
Him  with  a  Recommendation  to  Prince  Ferdinand,  that  He  may 
be  admitted  as  one  of  his  Aid-de-Camps.  He  speaks  the  German 
Language  fluently,  and  I  hope  possesses  the  other  Qualifications 
necessary  to  that  station. 

As  I  coud  have  no  french  Pass  at  the  Hague  in  monsr  D'Affry's 
Absence,  I  obtaind  a  Pass  from  Prince  Charles  at  Brussels,  which 
monsr  Cobentrel  assured  me  woud  be  sufficient.  He  desired  me 
to  assure  your  Grace  of  his  Respects,  and  behaved  Himself  with 
very  great  Civility  towards  me.  There  are  here  a  Lieut.  General, 
Le  Comte  D'audelau,  who  commands  in  the  Country  of  Liege; 
and  a  marechal  des  Camps,  le  Chevalier  de  GroUier,  who  com- 
manded last  in  the  Duchy  of  Cleves.  Both  infirm.  They  are  very 
polite,  and  we  converse  with  as  much  Ease  as  if  the  Nations  were 
in  profound  Peace.  These  with  their  Aids  de  Camps,  and  the 
Bishop  of  Augsburg  with  his  attendants,  are  the  only  Company 
worth  naming  at  this  Place.  I  am,  with  unalterable  Attachment, 
my  Dear  Lord, 

Your  Grace's  ever  faithful 

and  most  obedient  Servant 

R.  Nugent. 

Spa,  June  I'jth,  1760. 

Endorsed,  Spa,  June  17th,  1760.     Mr.  Nugent.     Rd.  July  8th. 

Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,918. 
f.  485. 

My  Lord, 

I  confessd  to  your  Grace  that  I  had  no  Pretensions  to  the 
Favor  you  was  pleasd  to  promise  me  for  my  cornish  Friend,  but 
the  weaker  my  Title  is  the  stronger  will  my  obligation  be  to  your 
Grace  if  you  be  pleasd  to  take  me  out  of  a  Scrape  into  which  I 
was  inconsiderately  drawn  by  a  hasty  Promise,  when  I  thought 
my  self  at  Liberty  to  serve  some  Friend  of  yours.  Indeed  my 
Lord,  if  I  coud  help  myself  in  any  other  way  I  woud  not  trouble 
you  upon  this  occasion,  but  I  have  a  proud  man  to  deal  with  to 


LETTERS  227 

whom  I  am  bound  by  a  positive  Ingagement,  upon  which  He 
insists  in  a  Letter  which  I  received  from  Him  as  I  was  stepping 
into  my  post-Chaise  to  come  hither.  I  am,  and  ever  shall  be,  as 
much  as  any  man  living,  my  Lord, 

your  Grace's  faithful 

and  devoted  Servant, 

R.  Nugent. 
Gosjield,  Feb.  12th,  1761. 
Endorsed,  Gosheld,  Feb.  12th,  1761.     Mr.  Nugent.     Rd.  14th. 

Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,930. 
f.  188. 

My  Lord, 

I  had  the  Honor  of  your  Grace's  Letter  here  by  the  last 
Post,  and  shall  certainly  obey  your  Commands.  I  propose  being 
in  Town  to-morrow,  notwithstanding  a  bad  strain  in  my  Foot,  to 
attend  the  usual  meeting  held  before  that  at  the  Cockpit,  if  I  find 
that  I  am  summond  to  it.  your  Grace,  I  dare  hope,  does  me  the 
justice  to  believe  that  no  member  of  the  present  Parliament  wishes 
more  sincerely  than  I  do  a  happy  Issue  to  its  Deliberations,  as  a 
Lover  of  my  Country  and  my  Lord, 

your  Grace's  faithful  and 

most  obedt  Sert, 

R.  Nugent. 
Gosfield,  Oct.  ^oth,  1761. 
E/zc^or^et?,  Gosfield,  Oct.  30th,  1 761.     Mr.  Nugent.     Rd.  31st. 

Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,935. 
f.  129. 

My  Lord, 

I  shall  certainly  obey  your  Grace's  Commands,  and  think 
with  you  the  Clause  which  passd  the  Committee  inadmissable 
upon  many  Considerations.  But  your  Grace  will  forgive  me  for 
expressing  my  apprehensions,  that  if  some  less  exceptionable 
Expedient  be  not  found  to  bring  the  Counties  concernd  in  the 
Clause  nearer  to  an  Equality  with  others,  much  bad  Humor  will 
mix  itself  in  the  Debate,  and  produce  other  Consequences  which 
ought  to  be  avoided.  I  am,  with  the  most  respectful  Attachment, 
my  Lord,  your  Grace's 

most  faithful  and  obedient  Servant, 

R.  Nugent. 
Parliament  Street,  Feb.  2Sth,  1762. 
Endorsed,  February  28th,  1762.     Mr.  Nugent. 


228  MEMOIR    OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,939. 
f.  339- 

My  Dear  Lord, 

You  are,  as  I  supposed  you  woud  be,  one  of  the  very  Few 
who  have  kept  their  words  with  me  ;  and  no  one  coud  do  it  so 
much  to  my  Satisfaction,  as  you  have  effectually  relieved  me  from 
the  Anxiety  I  was  under  from  Reports  spread  here,  with  all  the 
Air  of  Authenticity,  of  Circumstances  attending  our  noble  Friends 
Resignation  very  different  from  those  which  He  communicated 
to  you.  what  really  passd  does  Honor  to  majesty  ;  and  perfects 
the  Character  of  as  able,  faithful  and  disinterested  a  minister  as 
ever  served  the  Crown  ;  and  the  affecting  manner  in  which  you 
relate  it  does  Honor  to  your  Friendship  and  your  zeal.  That 
the  King  may  never  want  such  a  servant,  and  that  our  Friend  may 
find  in  Retirement  and  self-approbation  an  ample  Recompense  for 
the  Loss  of  Power  is  all  that  is  now  left  for  you  and  me  to  wish 
for  with  Regard  to  Both,  when  you  receive  any  News  of  Lord 
Albemarle,  for  God's  sake  communicate  them  to  me.  you  know 
how  deeply  and  particularly  I  am  concernd  in  the  Events  that 
may  happen  where  He  is  ;  and  I  can  trust  to  your  Friendship, 
which  I  never  knew  stop  short  in  promising  without  ever  thinking 
of  a  Performance,  adieu,  my  Dear  Lord.  I  wish  you  Joy  of 
your  new  Situation,  because  I  am  sure  it  is  more  pleasing  to  you 
than  that  in  which  you  was  before  engaged,  and  no  man  living 
is  with  more  sincere  Regard 

your  Lordship's  faithful 

and  obedt  Servt, 

R.  Nugent. 

Dublin,  June,  ^th,  1762. 

Enclosed  in  Ld.  Barrington's,  June  14th,  1762. 

Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,968. 
f.  230. 

My  Dear  Lord, 

I  have  now  resigned  the  Place  which  I  owed  to  your 
Grace's  Friendship,  I  may  therefore  without  Aukwardness  assure 
you  there  is  not  a  man  living  who  is  and  who  has  been  with 
more  sincerity, 

your  Grace's  faithful 

and  most  obedient  Servant, 

R.  Nugent. 
Parliament-Street,  July  2^th,  1765. 
Endorsed,  July  24th,  1765.     Mr.  Nugent.     Rd.  25.     Ad.  27th. 


LETTERS  229 

Newcastle  Papers,  Add.  MS.  32,872. 

f.  283.  Treasury  Chamhers, 

July  20th,  1757. 
Dear  Erskine, 

I  have  now  a  positive  Promise.  If  Hibbins  shoud  dye 
while  I  am  in  Gloucestershire,  write  a  Letter  to  the  Duke  of 
Newcastle  to  inform  Him  of  the  vacancy,  and  say  you  have  done 
it  by  my  Directions.  Let  me  hear  from  you  at  the  same  time, 
my  Compliments  to  Mrs.  Erskine.  I  am  this  moment  setting 
out  for  Gloucestershire. 

your  most  affectionate  Friend 
and  Servant, 

R.  Nugent. 

To  the  Reverend  John  Erskine  at  Gosfield  near  Braintree,  Essex. 

Endorsed,  Treasury,  July  20th,   17^7.     Mr.  Nugent  to  Rev.  Mr. 
Erskine. 

Sir, 

I  return  you  your  manuscript,^  which  I  intended  to  have 
finished  this  day,  but  I  am  in  hopes  you  will  favour  me  with  it 
again,  when  you  have  made  such  alterations  to  it  as  you  intend, 
&  in  the  mean  time  I  should  be  obliged  to  you  for  the  second 
volume. 

I  am,  Sr, 

Wth  great  truth. 

Your  most  obedient  humble  servant, 

Wm.  Pulteney. 

Arlington  street,  May  "/th,  1738. 

Grosvenor  Square, 
Monday  night,  12  0'  th  Clock. 
Sir, 

The  Sheets  I  have  wrote  to  evince  ye  necessity  of  settling 
the  Province  of  Nova  Scotia  with  protestant  Subjects ;  Sc  those 
added  to  it,  which  contain  an  imperfect,  tho'  heitherto  uncorrected 
Plan  for  doing  it,  you  will  soon  find  by  the  Purport  of  them  are 
improper  to  be  made  publick. — I  send  them  in  Confidence  to  you, 
as  a  Person  heartily  attatched  to  every  national  Concern,  equally 
an  able  and  zealous  Friend  to  the  Publick,  &  give  me  Leave  to 
add,  one,  whose  Character  I  have  the  highest  Regard  for. 

^  Probably  Nugent's  paper  entitled  '"  The  origin  and  consequences 
of  the  Influence  of  the  Crown  over  Parliament." 


230  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

I  am  glad  I  have  it  now  in  my  Power  to  send  you  my  Papers, 
as  in  all  Probability  the  affair  will  come  before  the  House  of 
Commons  on  Wednesday  ;  &  if  you  have  Time  to  read  them 
to-morrow  morning,  I  shall  be  glad  of  any  opportunity  you  will 
give  me  of  explaining  any  Points  that  may  be  imperfectly  stated. 
I  am  with  great  Regard,  Sir, 

Your  most  obedient  Humble  Servant, 

Dunk  Halifax. 

Dear  Sr, 

If  you  can  keep  Company  with  a  parcell  of  young  fellows 
(of  wch  Mr.  Potter  will  be  ye  Eldest)  &  can  dine  upon  Chickens 
&  mutton,  I  should  take  it  as  a  Favour  to  see  you  on  Tuesday 
next  between  three  &  four,  or  I  will  dine  at  any  hour  that  shall 
be  more  convenient  for  you.     I  am  with  Sincere  Respect, 

Dear  Sr, 

Yr  most  affectionate  faithful 
Humble  Servt, 

J.    WiLLES.l 

Bloomshury  Square,  May  22nd,  1748. 

Sr, 

By  order  of  Councill  I  am  directed  to  appoint  Four  Persons 
to  walk  with  white  Staffs  at  the  Funeral  Procession  of  our  late 
Dear  Master,  as  Chamberlain,  Comptroler,  Steward,  and  Treasurer ; 
and  as  I  imagine  that  you  will  choose  to  walk  in  your  proper 
Place,  I  give  you  this  Noting,  and  desire  your  answer  as  soon  as 
convenient.  There  is  as  yet  no  Day  fix't  for  the  Ceremony,  but 
imagine  it  may  be  about  Saturday  Sennight. 

I  am.  Sir, 

Your  very  Humble  Servant, 

Chandos.2 
Upper  Brook  Street,  April  ^th,  1751. 

I  believe  Sr  you  will  not  think  it  an  easy  task  to  draw  from  the 
letters  you  sent  me  any  fact  which  may  make  the  merry  Gentle- 
mans  Case  the  proper  Subject  of  a  serious  petition  :  common 
humanity  moves  one  to  assist  such  a  person  but  common  sense 
scarce  can  find  the  method,  his  letter  says,  as  it  were  by  the  by, 
that  the  fact  was  Committed  some  years  agoe,  and  tho  the  prose- 
cutor names  april  last,  yet  I  have  Laid  hold  of  that  Plea  to  add  to 

^  Chief  Justice  of  Common  Pleas,  appointed  1737. 
^  Henry,  the  second  Duke,  succeeded  1744. 


LETTERS  231 

the  accusers  character  and  upon  this  have  wrote  to  the  Duke  of 
Devonshire,  which  at  this  distance  is  all  I  can  doe.  I  have  sent 
him  the  Copy  of  the  Certificat,  but  not  that  of  the  petition  to 
which  it  was  anex't.  this  account  of  what  I  have  done  will  suffise 
if  you  think  proper  to  Second  my  request  when  you  return  to 
London,  the  mirth  of  a  person  in  Mr.  Delanors  circumstances 
seems  to  Surprise  you,  I  therefore  judg  you  will  not  wonder  that 
I  was  surprised  at  the  addition  of  his  familiarity  to  one  who  once 
mett  him  in  a  visit,  and  once  admitted  him  with  the  rest  of  the 
officers  of  the  Rigment  by  way  of  Compliment  in  passing  thro  a 
town  where  they  were  in  garrison  ;  notwithstanding  which  I  hope 
he  will  not  be  hanged  but  that  you  will  join  your  endeavours  for 
obtaining  his  pardon  with  those  of 

Sr,  your  most  humble  Servant, 

M.  Norfolk.! 
May  16,  1 741. 

if  you  are  return'd  to  London  I  desire  my  Compliments  to  Mrs. 
Nugent. 

To  Robert  Nugent,  Esqr. 

at  His  House  in  Dover  Street^  London. 


Clonin,  the  2gth  of  octoler,  1745. 

Deare  Cossen, 

I  had  the  favor  of  yours  and  am  very  much  obliged  to  you 
for  your  very  kind  regarde  and  wishes  for  me  the  experience  of 
which  I  had  very  often  found.  I  thanke  you  for  your  kind 
intention  to  serve  me  if  I  have  any  occasion  but  I  hope  as  I  always 
behaued  myself  and  shal  constantly  doe  that  thoe  this  ferment  is 
very  greate  that  I  shal  be  quiet,  my  Lord  Deloin  who  went  to 
Dublin  to  waite  on  my  Lord  Chesterfield  communicated  your 
letter  as  you  desired  to  my  Lord  Mongarret  and  Trimlestonn. 
my  Lord  Deloin  receiued  a  letter  lately  from  Cossen  John  Nugent 
which  giues  me  greate  trouble  he  hauing  writ  that  you  were  il  at 
Gosfield  of  a  Reumatisme  but  as  you  are  young  I  hope  it  wil  be 
removed  with  moderat  Phisik.  I  shal  be  uneasy  til  I  haue  the 
pleasure  of  a  letter  from  you  which  I  hope  wil  give  me  the  satis- 
faction of  your  being  pritty  wel  recovered  which  I  assure  you  noe 
relation  you  haue  more  sincerely  wishes  than  I  doe.  my  Lord 
Deloin  makes  his  compliment  to  you.  his  and  mine  I  pray  to  my 
Cossen  your  lady  sister  and  son.     I  am  very  glad  he  enjoys  good 

^  nee  Blount,  wife  of  Edward,  ninth  Duke. 


232  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

healthe  and  as  he  has  a  very  good  capacity  I  doe  not  doubt  he  wil 
advance  in  his  learning.  I  am  with  very  great  regarde  and 
affection,  deare  Cossen, 

Yr  most  obedient  humble  servant  and  affectionat  Cossen, 

Westmeath.^ 

Deare  Cossen, 

I  had  the  favor  of  your  kind  letter  about  ten  days  a2:oe  for 
which  I  give  you  much  thankes  for  til  I  receiued  yrs  I  was  very 
uneasy  hauing  heard  that  you  lent  a  large  sume  of  money  to  the 
late  Prince  of  Wales  vou  lost  so  much  by  his  death  not  to  haue 
lost  your  money.  I  wou'd  haue  acknowledged  the  favour  of  yours 
before  now  but  that  I  was  very  much  indisposed  with  a  very  greate 
cold  which  considering  my  very  greate  age  affected  me  much. 

I  am  very  proude  of  the  good  character  you  giue  of  my  Cossen 
your  son  who  I  hope  wil  continue  a  greate  pleasure  to  you. 

I  am  glad  my  Cossen  yr  lady  and  sister  are  wel  my  most 
sincere  and  humble  respects  to  them.  I  find  that  the  naturalation 
bil  you  were  sollicitous  about  is  like  to  miscarry  as  you  was 
solicitous  about  it  I  am  much  concerned  that  it  is  like  to  miscarry 
that  I  doe  not  know  of  a  benefit  it  wou'd  be  to  us  it  wil  be  a 
greate  pleasure  to  me  to  be  favored  by  yr  writing  some  for  it  giues 
me  much  pleasure  to  be  assured  by  yr  letters  that  you  are  wel  I 
wish  you  a  long  continuance  of  good  health. 
I  am,  deare  Cossen, 

with  verv  greate  respect  and  sincerely  your  most 

faithful  and  obedient  humble  servant  and  kinsman, 

Westmeath. 
Clonin,  the  27M  of  April,  1751. 

Dear  Sir, 

I  have  had  so  continual  a  succession  of  Company  and 
business  that  it  has  not  been  possible  for  me  to  read  over  th'  packet 
I  return  you.  I  have  read  but  three  acts  and  as  you  desired  to 
have  it  to  carry  into  the  country  I  must  lose  the  pleasure  of 
finishing  it  till  some  other  opportunity.  I  wish  you  much  health 
and  diversion  and  am 

Dear  Sr, 

Yrs  very  faithfully, 

W.  P1TT.2 
Saturday  morning. 

To  Mr.  Nugent. 

1  Fourth  Earl.  ^  Afterwards  Earl  of  Chatham. 


LETTERS  233 

Dear  Sir, 

I  have  the  satisfaction  to  acquaint  you  that  Mr.  Pownall 
will  remain  Secretary  till  the  Distinction  for  him  can  take  place. 
I  rejoice  extremely  with  you  upon  this  circumstance,  persuaded 
that  vou  will  receive  great  facilities,  in  the  Beginning  of  your 
operations,  from  the  experience  and  knowledge  of  a  very  able 
Officer,  who  has  the  thread  of  business,  allow  me  only  to  add  at 
present,  that  I  wish  vou  wou'd  mention  to  my  Lord  Lieutenant, 
as  soon  as  conveniently  may  be,  the  Creation  of  Viscounts,  request- 
ing His  Lordship  to  lay  it  before  the  King.  I  am  ever  with 
affectionate  regard  and  consideration 
Mv  Dear  Sir, 

Your  most  faithfuU  &c  most  obedient 

humble  servant, 

Chatham. 
Friday,  Deer.  ^th. 

My  Dear  Sir, 

I  return  you  the  enclosed  which  I  read  with  great  pleasure 
and  congratulate  you  behon  hand  on  an  easy  re-election,  you  will, 
to  be  sure,  kiss  the  King's  hand  to  Day:  of  which  His  Majesty  is 
apprised  and  which  his  majesty  has  approved.  I  am  in  the  middle 
of  encasements  and  able  to  add  no  more  than  the  warm  assurances 
of  esteem  and  consideration  which  I  am  always 

Dear  Sir, 
Your  most  faithfuU  &  most  obedient  humble  serv^ant 

Chatham. 
Wednesday  Morning. 

The  Works  of  Jonathan  Swift,  D.D.,  vol.  xix.  p.  243. 

Mrs.  Whiteway  to  Lord  Orrery. ^ 

My  Lord, 

I  shall  not  hesitate  one  moment  to  send  your  lordship  Mr. 
Pope's  letters,  as  likewise  that  from  Bath  ;  but  how  am  I  to 
convey  them  to  you  ?  not  by  post  surely,  for  then  I  might  be 
justly  accused  with  folly  or  breach  of  trust,  to  venture  them  by  so 
uncertain  and  dangerous  a  way.  If  your  lordship  will  order  a 
faithful  servant,  or  a  gentleman  with  a  line  under  your  hand,  to 
call  for  them,  I  shall  deliver  them  with  pleasure  ;  and  this  I  should 

!*-)(■*  "Yhe  publication  which  had  given  Pope  so  much  offence  had 
now  taken  place,  and  Mrs.  Whiteway  was  no  longer  reluctant  to  return 
the  letters.  The  blanks  are  occasioned  by  defects  in  the  original  manu- 
script, which  is  very  inaccurate  besides. 


234  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

not  do  to  any  other  person  whatsoever,  without  an  immediate 
direction  to  myself  from  Mr.  Pope,  who  knows  I  refused  them  to 
Mr.  Robert  Nugent,  from  whom  I  had  two  letters  in  the  last, 
telling  me  Mr.  Pope  desired  me  to  send  them  by  his  mother,  then 
going  to  England  ;  and  by  the  same  packet,  and  the  same  date,  I 
had  a  letter  from  Mr.  Pope,  who  told  me  he  would  expect  them 
by  Mr.  M'Aulay,  who  intended  long  ago  to  have  been  in  London, 
if  business  had  not  prevented  him.  I  am  so  far  from  suspecting 
any  person  of  this  side  the  water,  (and,  therefore,  it  would  be 
unjust  to  guess,)  that  I  do  not  believe  they  were  taken  here.  I 
will  tell  you  my  reasons  for  it.  First,  I  do  assure  your  lordship, 
the  Dean  kept  no  copies  of  Mr.  Pope's  letters  for  these  twelve 
years  past,  to  my  knowledge,  or  [of  his  own  letters,]  to  anybody 
else,  excepting  to  a  lord-lieutenant  or  a  bishop,  whom  he  feared 
might  make  an  ill  use  of  them;  and  of  those  to  Mr.  Pope,  I  saw 
him  write  and  send  off  immediately.  This,  therefore,  makes  me 
think  it  reasonable  to  suppose,  it  is  not  from  this  quarter  that  Mr. 
Pope  hath  been  ill  used,  but  must  have  been  betrayed  by  his 
English  servants,  who  have  more  cunning,  and  a  nearer  way  of 
making  money  of  them  than  ours  have  ;  and  I  cannot  imagine 
any  person  above  the  degree  of  a  servant  capable  of  so  base  an 
action.  My  lord,  I  beg  leave  to  talk  freely  with  you,  and  I  can 
have  no  other  view  in  it  than  to  defend  the  Dean  in  a  particular 
which  concerns  his  honour,  and  all  those  he  thinks  proper  to  place 
confidence  in.  You  must,  I  believe,  have  seen  a  book  of  letters 
stitched  together  by  the  Dean,  wherein  there  are  numbers  of  them 
from  the  greatest  men  in  England,  both  for  genius,  learning,  and 
power,  such  as  Lords  Bolingbroke,  Oxford,  Ormond,  Bathurst, 
Peterborough,  and  Queensborough  ;  Parnell,  Addison,  Gay,  Prior, 
Congreve,  and  Mr.  Lewis,  to  say  nothing  of  your  lordship,  (because 
I  am  writing  to  you,)  which  are  in  my  possession,  and  may  be 
commanded  whenever  [you]  please,  for  I  have  lately  got  the 
Dean's  leave  to  give  them  even  when  he  is  alive,  which  he  at  first 
refused  me  ;  and  were  there  a  person  vile  enough  in  this  kingdom 
to  be  bought,  why  were  not  these  sold  to  Curl  as  well  as  others ; 
for  surely,  not  to  mention  Sr.,  some  of  the  rest  might  be  thought 
as  entertaining  to  the  world  as  the  Dean's,  and  as  easily  to  be  stole. 
Permit  me,  my  lord,  to  ask  a  question  or  two.  Do  you  think 
the  letters  to  and  from  Dr.  Swift  are  genuine  ?  if  so,  will  you  look 
over  them  again,  and  explain  to  me  this  sentence  ?  Mr.  Pope 
taking  occasion  to  mention  Mr.  Wycherly,  immediately  after 
says, — "  Some  letters  of  yours  and  mine  have  been  lately  published, 
not  without  the  concurrence  of  a  noble  lord,  who  is  a  friend  of 
yours  and  mine."  I  hope  what  I  have  said  will  convince  your 
lordship,  how  much  I  detest  the  base  practices  of  those  who  could 


LETTERS  235 

be  capable  of  betraying  friendship.  I  once  more  repeat  my  con- 
cern, that  I  had  not  power  enough  with  the  Dean  to  prevent 
their  being  given  to  Mr.  Faulkner,  and  returned  to  Mr.  Pope.  If 
you  think  it  proper,  when  you  send  him  the  papers,  to  present 
him  my  most  obedient  respects,  and  this  letter,  for  I  am  sure  any- 
thing of  this  kind  from  me  is  not  worth  his  paying  for.  However, 
I  shall  submit  this  and  everything  else  to  your  lordship's  judgment. 
There  is  one  particular  I  had  like  to  forget,  that  one  of  the  letters 
of  Mr.  Pope's  I  took  out  of  the  Dean's  stitched  book  with  his 
permission,  and,  I  must  say,  I  think  equal  to  any  he  writ,  and  yet 
this  letter  is  safe,  and  not  printed,  although  the  book  hath  been 
lent  to  many  of  the  Dean's  friends. 

The  Works  of  Jonathan  Swift,  D.D.,  vol.  xix.  p.  251. 

Mr.  Nugent,  to  Mrs.  Whiteway. 

Bath,  April  2,  1740. 
Madam, 

I  had  not  until  very  lately  an  opportunity  of  letting  Mr. 
Pope  know  his  obligations  to  you ;  of  which  he  is  very  sensible, 
and  has  desired  me  to  beg  that  you  will  remit  to  me,  by  a  safe 
hand,  whatever  letters  of  his  are  now  in  your  possession.  I  shall 
be  in  town  next  week  ;  so  that  you  may  be  pleased  to  direct  to 
me,  by  the  first  convenient  opportunity,  at  my  house  in  Dover- 
street,  London.  I  am.  Madam,  with  great  esteem,  your  most 
humble  and  obedient  servant, 

R.  N. 

My  compliments  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Swift.  I  shall  say  nothing 
of  the  picture,  because  I  am  sure  you  remember  it.  I  must  beg 
that  you  will  let  Mr.  Bindon  ^  know  I  would  have  the  picture  no 
more  than  a  head  upon  three  quarter  cloth,  to  match  one  which  I 
now  have  of  Mr.  Pope. 

Twitenham,  March  26. 
Sir, 

When  you  did  me  the  favour  to  acquaint  me  of  Mrs. 
Whiteway's  offer,  I  thought  it  not  necessary  to  give  you  a  trouble, 
which  I  imagined  wd  be  less  so  to  my  Lord  Orrery.     But  upon 

^  The  greatest  painter  and  architect  of  his  time  in  these  kingdoms. 
On  account  of  his  age,  and  some  little  failure  in  his  sight,  he  threw 
aside  his  pencil  soon  after  the  year  1750  ;  and  afterwards  lived  to  a  good 
old  age,  greatly  beloved  and  respected  by  all  who  had  the  happiness 
either  of  his  friendship  or  acquaintance.    He  died  June  2,  1765. 


236  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

reflection,  I  believe  He  is  not  upon  the  best  terms  with  the  Lady  ; 
at  least  as  She  chose  to  propose  this  to  yourself,  it  may  be  better  to 
apply  by  ye  same  Person  to  whom  she  mention'd  it :  And  for  my 
own  part,  I  assure  you  Sir,  you  are  not  the  last  man  I  wd  owe  a 
Favour  to.  I  shall  be  therfore  truly  obliged  to  you,  if  you  write 
as  you  proposed,  &  thank  her  in  my  name  for  securing  those 
papers  agst  all  disagreable  accidents  :  If  she  sends  them,  by  some 
honest  hand,  to  you,  I  shall  know  they  are  as  safe  as  in  my  own 
custody. 

Tho  I  have  many  Poetical  Thanks  to  pay  you,  I  must  par- 
ticularise your  ode  to  Lord  Marchmont,  both  the  Design  Sc  Execu- 
tion of  which  manifest  yr  Spirit,  wch  once  animated  the  Heads  Sc 
Hearts  of  Poets,  &  for  which  your  odes,  like  those  of  Alcaeus,  will 
challenge  Esteem,  as  well  as  Praise. 
I  am  Sir, 

Your  most  obliged  Sc  obedt  humble  Servant, 

A.  Pope. 

I  may  remember  Mrs.  Nugent  as  one  of  ye  Companions  of  my 
younger  &  gayer  Days,  &  sigh  to  be  able  to  live  on  with  ym. 
But  we  are  no  longer  Creatures  of  ye  same  Element :  They  are 
all  Air  and  Fire,  &  I  am  Earth ;  however  I  admire  their  Flights, 
Sc  am  their  Servant. 


Twifnam,  May  21. 
Sir, 

I  hope  you  are  return'd  wth  as  much  Health,  as  Success 
from  yr  Elections,  Sc  I  rejoice  that  your  negotiations  for  yr  self  Sc 
yr  Friends  in  Cornwall  have  prov'd  more  effectual  than  those  for 
me  wch  you  kindly  undertook  in  Ireland.  You  have  brought  a 
great  Book  upon  yr  head;  and  to  show  that  you  can  bear  any 
Burden  with  patience,  pray  send  for  it  to  Mr.  Murrays  in  Lincolns 
inn  fields  where  one  has  been  left  some  time  to  be  deliver'd  to  any 
one  you  order.  I  hope  soon  to  see  you  either  here  or  in  Town, 
who  am  wth  all  regard  Sir 

Yr  most  obliged  Sc  obedient  Servant, 

A.  Pope. 
My  old  fashion'd  Services  attend  Mrs  Nugent. 

To 

R.  Nugent,  Esq.  in 
Dover  Street 
Piccadilly 
London. 


LETTERS  237 

Augst  T4M,  1 740. 

Sir, 

I  cannot  enough  acknowledge  yr  obliging  endeavors  as  to 
what  has  given  me  so  much  apprehension,  the  affair  of  the  Letters : 
all  which,  I  am  now  convinced,  has  been  a  mere  Feint  to  amuse 
us  both.  For  last  week  I  receiv'd  an  acct  from  Faukener  the 
Dublin  Bookseller,  "  That  the  Dean  himself  has  given  him  a 
"  Collection  of  Letters,  of  his  own  &  mine  &  others,  to  be 
"  printed  ;  &  he  civilly  asks  my  Consent :  assuring  me  the  D. 
"  declares  ym  genuine,  &  that  Mr.  Swift,  Mrs.  Whiteway's  Son  in 
"  law,  will  correct  ye  press,  out  of  his  great  respect  to  the  Dean 
"  &  myself."  He  says,  they  were  collected  bv  some  unknown 
persons,  &  ye  Copy  sent  with  a  Letter,  importing  yt  "  it  was 
"  criminal  to  suppress  such  an  amiable  Picture  of  the  Dean,  & 
"  his  private  Character  appearing  in  those  letters,  &  that  if  he 
"  wd  not  publish  ym  in  his  life  time,  others  wd  after  his 
"  death." 

I  think  I  can  make  no  Reflections  upon  this  strange  Incident, 
but  what  are  truly  melancholy,  &  humble  ye  Pride  of  human 
Nature.  That  the  greatest  of  Genius's  tho  Prudence  may  have 
been  the  Companion  of  wit  (wch  is  very  rare)  for  their  whole 
Lives  past,  may  have  nothing  left  them  at  last  but  their  Vanity. 
No  Decay  of  Body  is  half  so  miserable  !  I  shall  write,  &  do,  all 
I  can  upon  this  vexatious  Incident,  but  I  despair  of  stopping 
what  is  already  no  doubt  in  many  hands.  Can  it  be  possible  the 
Dean  has  forgot,  how  many  years,  &  by  how  many  instances 
I  have  press'd  him  to  secure  me  from  this  very  thing  ?  or  can  it 
be  imagined  Mrs.  W.  has  remonstrated  a2:st  it  ?  The  moment  I 
had  yr  Intimation  that  she  wd  return  them,  I  wrote  to  her,  & 
embraced  her  offer  with  thanks  :  She  answer'd  me  lately,  yt  she 
wd  not  send  ym  to  Mr.  Nugent,  but  to  a  certain  Mr.  Mac  Aulay  : 
I  presume  now,  that  she  wd  have  sent  but  a  few  of  no  conse- 
quence ;  for  the  Bookseller  tells  me  there  are  several  of  Ld 
Bolingbroke's  &c.  (which  must  have  been  in  the  Dean's  own 
custody  ;  and  one  of  which  was  printed  twelve  years  ago).  I 
would  therfore  trouble  you  no  more  in  this  unlucky  affair.  I 
believe  they  had  entertained  a  Jealousy  of  you,  as  the  same  persons 
did  before  of  my  Lord  Orrery  :  they  then  prevented  the  Dean 
from  complying  to  any  purpose  with  my  request  :  they  then  sent 
a  few,  just  to  save  appearances ;  and  possibly  to  serve  as  a  sort  of 
plea  to  excuse  them  from  being  taxed  of  this  Proceeding,  wch  is 
now  thrown  upon  the  Dean  himself. 

The  Mundicks  will  arrive  very  seasonably  :  If  any  thing  will 
amuse  me  at  present,  it  must  be  playing  ye  fool  any  way  but  by 


238  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

writing  -,  and  yet  you  see  how  long  this  Letter  is.  I  heartily 
wish  you  Success  in  bringing  a  little  more  English  Spirit  into 
Cornwall,  and  in  routing  the  Gog-magog's  of  ye  present  age.  I 
am  not  without  hopes  of  meeting  you  at  Bath,  and  joyning  with 
the  waters  to  heat  yr  Head  to  Poetry. 

— Satyrarum  ego,  ni  pudet  illas, 

Adjutor,  gelidos  veniam  caligatus  ad  agros. 

I  am,  Sr, 

Your  most  obliged  Sc  faithfuU  Servant, 

A.  Pope. 


Aug.  j6,  1740. 


Sir, 


I  did  not  think,  when  I  troubled  you  so  lately  with  an 
Account,  in  how  surprizing  a  manner  your  kind  negotiations  in 
my  behalf  were  terminated ;  that  I  shd  so  soon  again  have 
interrupted  your  present,  better,  business.  But  upon  reflection, 
that  my  answer  to  Faukener  concerning  this,  ought  to  be 
hasten'd,  &  in  an  Apprehension  that  some  pretence  might  be 
taken,  as  if  it  was  not  received,  I  thought  it  proper  to  have  it 
transmitted  otherwise  than  by  the  common  Post.  I  beg  therfore 
that  you  will  send  it  by  or  thro'  some  hand  you  know,  who  may 
deliver  it  personally  to  Faukener,  after  you  have  read  it,  or  (if 
you  think  fit)  copy'd.  Excuse  this  in  one,  who  sees,  and  is 
oblig'd  by,  the  Part  you  have  taken,  and  wishes  himself  capable 
of  proving  how  much  he  is 

Sir, 
Yr  most  faithfuU  humble  Servt, 

A.  Pope. 

To  R.  Nugent  Esqr,  at 

The  Hon.  Mrs.  Nugent's,  at 
London. 


Sept.  3,   1740. 
Sir, 

The  more  I  read  yr  Ode,  the  less  I  find  any  necessity  of 
making  it  clearer;  you  have  sufficiently  distinguish'd  your  Idaea 
of  the  Multitude.     The  very  few  things  I  cd  imagine  alterable, 


LETTERS  239 

I  have  put  in ;  but  in  so  modest  a  character,  as  easily  to  be  erased 
if  you  disapprove  them.  I  could  be  willing  to  be  of  greater 
Ser\dce  to  you,  but  you  must  thank  your  Superior  Circumstances, 
as  a  Poet  no  less  than  as  a  man,  that  I  cannot.  I  am  however 
intentionally,  tho  not  virtually, 

Sir, 
Your  most  faithfuU  and  obedient  humble  Servt. 

A.  Pope. 

I  hope  yu  have  had  my  letter,  wch  I  beg  yu  to  forward  by 
some  particular  hand  to  Faukener. 

Mrs.  Nugent  I  know  remembers  me,  and  so  do  I  her,  always, 
&  acknowledge  her  Good  Temper  towards  me,  who  does  not 
quarrel  with  me  as  other  Ladies  have  done. 

To  R.  Nugent,  Esq. 


Dear  Sir, 

I  hope  you  think  better  of  me  than  to  impute  my  silence 
hitherto  on  the  subject  of  the  Roller  either  to  disrespect  or 
neglect  in  obeying  your  commands ;  it  is  true  indeed  I  might, 
&  am  afraid  ought  to  have  told  you  I  had  receiv'd  &  would  obey 
them ;  but  that  would  have  still  been  only  words,  &  tho'  you  are 
pleased  to  express  some  partiallity  for  mine,  1  was  ashamed  to 
trouble  you  with  any  more  of  them  on  that  subject  till  they 
could  come  accompany'd  by  Deed.  I  have  at  last  procured  the 
inclosed  sketch,  which  tho  I  ordered  to  be  made  immediately 
after  receiving  your  letter,  is  but  just  now  deliver'd  to  me. 
I  hope  it  will  be  intelligible  to  the  workman  you  employ.  You 
may  observe  that  the  shafts  may  be  apply'd  to  either  end  of  the 
frame,  which  is  to  avoid  the  turning  about  the  Roller  where  there 
may  not  be  a  sufficient  space  to  do  it  without  tearing  up  the 
ground  by  turning  too  short. 

I  found  fault  that  the  inside  work  of  the  Roller  is  not  described, 
but  I  was  answer'd  that  any  Carpenter  or  Millwright  who  under- 
stand their  Business  would  know  how  to  put  it  together. 

We  wish'd  extreamly  for  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you  here  on 
your  return  from  Cornwall  &  regreted  the  shortness  of  your 
stay  with  us  on  your  journey  thither;  we  now  flatter  ourselves 
with  the  hopes  of  meeting  soon  at  London,  where  wheels  within 
wheels  compose  a  more  complicated  &  curious  machine  than  the 
inclosed   &  begins  now  to  be  more  in  season.     I  beg  you  will 


240  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

present  my  sincere  compliments  to  Mrs.  Nugent.     My  Wife  and 
sons  join  theirs  with  mine  to  you  both. 

I  am  with  2;reat  truth 
Dear  Sir 
Your  most  obedient  humble  servant, 

QUEENSBERRY.^ 

Amhreslury,  Deer,  gtk,  1752. 

Sunday  morning. 
Dear  Sr, 

I  am  extreamly  concern'd  at  not  being  able  to  waite  on 
you  to  day,  but  I  am  oblig'd  to  go  out  of  town,  not  in  pursuit 
of  pleasure,  for  if  that  was  my  scheem  I  should  certainly  dine 
with  you,  but  to  gett  quit  of  an  ugly  cold  that  prevents  my  being 
fitt  company  for  anybody ;  I  hope  you  will  pardon  this  &  give  me 
leave  to  take  some  other  opportunity  of  waiting  on  you. 

I  am.  Dear  Sr, 
Your  most  obedient  &  most  humble  servant, 

Marlborough.2 


Friday  Morning. 

Dear  Sir, 

You  can  do  me  a  favour,  &  I  think  you  will  take  the 
trouble  not  very  unwillingly,  otherwise  I  would  not  ask  you  to 
do  it. 

The  London  Ev'ning  Post  from  Tuesday  to  yesterday  tells  the 
World  that  I  have  kissed  the  Prince's  hand  for  being  Ld  of  his 
Bedchamber. 

The  Newswriters  may  when  they  please,  marry  or  kill  me,  but 
all  other  Actions  of  mine  I  will  have  at  my  own  disposal.  If 
they  say  I  take  a  purse,  I  shall  break  their  bones;  if  they  say 
I  take  a  place  I  cannot  so  conveniently  do  it,  for  fear  of  striking 
others  to  whom  I  would  not  be  uncivil.  But  I  cannot  like  that 
any  Body's  Footboy  at  the  Land's  End  should  think  me  possess'd 
of  honours  which  I  have  not  aspir'd  to,  and  therefore  I  beg  of 
you  by  Malloy  or  whoever  else  you  can  properly  employ  to  get 
a  paragraph  put  into  Ev'ng  Paper  which  has  thought  fit  to  tell 
this  Lye  to  contradict  it,  &  say  that  IVe  are  assured  that  the 
Report  that  Lord  Coiiihury  was  made  Ld  of  the  Bedchamber 
to  the  Pr:  of  Wales  is  without  the  least  foundation. 

^  Charles,  third  Duke. 

2  Charles,  second  Duke,  succeeded  1733. 


LETTERS  241 

This  I  beg  to  have  done  immediately  &  that  I  may  not  be 
known  to  have  had  any  share  in  this  paragraph  as  I  am  sure  I  had 
none  in  w^hatever  could  give  grounds  for  the  Other. 

Yrs  with  a  better  heart  than  Pen, 

CORNBURY.^ 

Mr.  Yorke  -  presents  his  compliments  to  Mr.  Nugent,  &  is 
much  obliged  to  him  for  his  kind  Note  &  compliments  of 
condolence.  He  has  been  so  much  out  of  order,  and  lived  so 
much  out  of  the  world  for  some  days,  that  he  did  not  know  the 
new  Marriage  Bill  was  prepared ;  much  less  the  substance  & 
the  provisions  of  it.  He  only  begs  the  favour  &  friendship  of 
Mr.  Nugent  that  the  Second  Reading  may  not  be  brought  on  till 
the  week  after  next,  which  will  give  Mr.  Y.  an  opportunity  of 
attending,  consistently  with  his  other  engagements;  which  will 
fill  his  time  during  the  course  of  next  week,  at  the  Cockpit,  &  in 
the  House  of  Lords. 

As  the  Session  will  certainly  last  several  weeks  longer,  Mr.  Y. 
thinks  the  matter  cannot  press  so,  as  to  make  this  request 
unreasonable;  and  relies  on  Mr.  Nugent's  friendship  in  what  he 
takes  the  liberty  to  suggest. 

Mar.  15,  1764. 

To  The  Rt.  Honble  Mr.  Nugent, 
&c.,  &c.,  &c. 


Powis  House,  May  2d,  1753. 
Dear  Sir, 

I  am  extremely  obliged  to  you  that,  in  the  midst  of  your 
Triumphs,  you  have  spar'd  a  moment  to  send  me  the  very 
agreeable  News  of  your  Success.  I  most  heartily  congratulate 
you  and  our  selves  upon  it,  &  desire  that  you  will  have  the 
goodness  to  make  my  best  compliments,  &  return  my  best  Thanks, 
to  my  good  Friends  at  Bristol,  for  their  generous  &  zealous 
Labours  in  the  public  Service  upon  this  occasion.  I  know  their 
worth,  &  their  good  Principles,  &  attachment  to  the  King  and 
his  Government ;  and  no  body  can  set  a  higher  Value  upon  them 
than  I  do.  Such  is  the  make  of  the  humane  mind,  that  great 
success  gives  one  a  hankering  after  more;  &  some  of  us  cannot 
help  wishing  that  a  good  Partner  had  been  found  for  you  to  have 
added  to  your  Victory. 

^  Only  son  of  the  last  Earl  of  Clarendon  and  Rochester. 
2  Charles,  second  son  of  the  Chancellor. 

R 


242   .  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Give  me  leave  once  more  to  repeat  my  sincere  Congratulations 
&  to  assure  you  that  I  am,  with  great  Respect, 

Dear  Sir, 
Your  most  obedient  Sc  faithful  humble  Servant, 

Hardwicke.i 

The  Lord  Chancellor  salutes  Friend  Hanbury  and  assures  him 
of  his  sincere  Respects. 


London,  Sept.  ye  20th,  1739. 

Sir, 

I  wish  I  had  enough  of  the  kind  of  madness  you  mention 
to  be  able  to  return  you  my  thanks  for  your  invitation  in  the  same 
language  it  was  writt  in,  but  I  am  naturally  so  very  sober  in  that 
Article,  that  I  must  have  been  really  mad  in  every  other  to  have 
attempted  it.  I  own  however,  I  did  all  I  could  towards  it  ;  I 
walk'd  upon  the  Banks  of  the  Silver  Thames  you  mention,  and 
endeavour'd  to  fancy  it  the  Hippocrene  ;  Richmond  Hill  I  call'd 
Helicon,  and  encoura2;'d  all  Poeticall  delusion  to  such  a  de2;ree 
that  I  imagined  all  the  women  I  mett  to  be  muses,  and  conse- 
quently Chaste  and  sensible.  Was  it  possible  to  carry  delusion 
higher  ?  but  'twas  all  to  no  purpose.  Take  me  then  in  humble 
prose,  and  lett  the  language  of  a  very  sincere  and  friendly  heart 
make  amends  for  an  uninventive,  unpoeticall  head.  This  is  the 
more  reasonable  too,  because  I  believe  we  have  a  much  greater 
share  in  moldino;  our  own  hearts  than  in  formino;  our  own  heads. 

You  are  the  first  Man  surely  that  ever  made  a  Parnassus  of  an 
Irish  Mountain,  and  that  prevail'd  with  the  Muses  to  follow  him 
to  Howth.  Numerous  and  Chaste  as  they  may  be,  yett  by  the 
account  you  give  of  the  Effects  of  Goat's  milk,  added  to  your 
naturall  abilitys,  which  I  always  mention  with  honour  and 
reverence,  elles  trouveront  a  qui  pcirler.  It  is  plain  by  your  pro- 
ductions that  you  have  enjoy 'd  'em,  and  so  well  too,  that  I  dare 
say  they'll  be  constant,  unless  Pope  sometimes  tempt  'em  to  an 
infidelity,  for  I  see  no  other  Rival!  you  have. 

Though  I  can't  accept  at  present  your  invitation  to  Ireland,  yett 
I  confess  there  are  two  circumstances  in  it  very  Tempting,  the  first 
without  a  compliment,  is  being  with  you,  with  whom  I  would  as 
willingly  be  upon  the  top  of  an  Irish  mountain  as  with  any  Man 
in  Europe.  The  next  is  the  promise  you  make  of  transfusing 
into  me  with  the  milk,  the  propertys  of  the  Goat.  I  am  per- 
suaded of  your  good   intentions   to   me,    but    they   would   prove 


Philip,  first  Earl,  Lord  Chancellor. 


LETTERS  243 

inefFectuall,  for  unfortunately,  I  am  not  Goafabile,  as  the  Italians 
say  non  papalile.  And  farr  from  thinking  now  of  giving  existence 
to  others,  I  have  much  ado  to  preserve  my  own  ;  in  order  to  do 
it,  I  go  to  the  Bath  next  week,  which  I  wish  you  would  think 
your  best  way  from  Ireland  to  London.  Tunbridge  did  me  a 
great  deal  of  good  for  about  two  months,  but  of  late  I  have  had 
returns  of  my  old  complaint.  The  Tenement  in  short  is  so 
decay'd,  that  it  wants  frequent  repairs,  which  is  very  troublesome 
and  disagreable,  especiallv  when  one  knows  the  foundation  to  be 
so  bad,  as  not  to  deserv^e  'em. 

I  hear  you  are  often  with  the  Dean  of  St.  Patricks,  which  I  am 
glad  of  for  both  your  sakes,  and  wish  for  my  own  only  that  I  could 
make  a  third.  When  you  see  him  next  pray  make  my  compli- 
ments to  him. 

As  I  knew  of  certainty  that  men  and  measures  was  not  Pope's, 
I  really  thought  it  must  be,  and  took  it  for  vours,  but  I  am  glad  it 
is  not,  because  I  am  glad  we  have  any  bodv  who  can  write  well 
enough  to  be  mistaken  for  you. 

I  rather  chuse  to  end  this  letter  abruptlv,  than  to  putt  the  truths 
I  would  tell  you  in  the  place  that  form  and  Custom  have  appro- 
priated to  peroration  compliments.  I  would  have  my  friendship 
and  esteem  for  you  as  free  even  from  anv  suspicious  circumstances, 
as  I  am  from  form  or  flattery,  when  I  assure  you  that  I  am 

Most  faithfully  and  truly 
Yours 

Chesterfield. 


London,  May  ye  gth,  1741. 
.  Sir, 

I  have  paid  Mr.  Snow  the  eight  hundred  pounds,  and 
receiu'd  my  Note ;  but  I  cannot  think  that  the  bare  payment  of 
the  money  would  be  a  sufficient  acknowledgement  of  the  obliga- 
tions Hammond  and  I  have  to  you  for  advancing  it.  Few  would 
have  done  what  you  did,  and  from  as  few  would  I  have  receiv'd 
it ;  few  friendships  now-a-days  can  stand  the  Test  of  money,  and 
few  enmitys  resist  the  reconciling  force  of  it.  To  value  it  neither 
too  much  nor  too  little  is  the  difficult  point,  and  I  know  few  but 
yourself  who  have  hit  it. 

I  set  out  next  Tuesday  for  Aix  la  Chappelle,  in  pursuit  of  reall 
Happyness,  that  is,  in  my  mind,  health  ;  for  without  it  I  am  sure 
there  can  be  no  happyness  ;  and  with  it,  I  hardly  see  how  a 
rationall  creature  can,  or  at  least  need,  be  unhappy.  Montaigne 
says  he  has  no  notion  of  any  pleasures,  but  les  plaisirs  maniahles, 


.'5 


244  MEMOIR    OF   EARL   NUGENT 

and  I  think  this  will  hold  as  to  pains,  those  of  sensation  are  the 
worst.  We  chiefly  make  the  others  ourselves,  and  if  we  either 
reason'd  less  or  more,  we  should  have  very  few  of  'em.  And  a 
true  notion  of  the  futility  of  every  thing  would  make  any  thing 
pretty  indifferent,  sensation  excepted.  In  consequence  of  this 
System,  I  intend  to  make  the  Channell  the  Lethe  to  me  ;  and  in 
crossing  it,  will  forget  every  thing  that  could  ruffle  the  serenity  I 
propose  to  enjoy  abroad.  I  will  forget  all  the  knaves  and  fools  I 
leave  behind  me  (an  extensive  oblivion  you'll  allow)  and  wonder 
at  the  new  ones  I  meet  with,  as  if  I  had  never  seen  any  before, 
rie  see  Slavery  with  pity  and  surprize,  without  once  remembering 
that  my  own  Country  either  is,  or  soon  will  be,  in  the  same  con- 
dition ;  in  short  I'le  forget  every  thing  here  but  my  friends,  a 
reminiscence  too  pleasing  for  one  in  the  pursuit  of  pleasure  to  part 
with.  As  I  reckon  you  in  that  Number,  I  need  not  tell  you  I 
shall  think  of  you,  but  I  desire  you  will  give  me  more  reasons  than 
my  own  to  think  of  you,  that  is  that  you  will  lett  me  hear  from 
you.  Write  me  word  how  you  do,  and  what  you  do  ;  in  prose 
or  in  verse  ;  and  what  others  do  ;  the  quinqidd  Agiint  homines. 
Homo  comprehends  woman  too.  In  return  you  shall  hear  of  the 
most  materiall  occurrences  at  Aix  and  Spaa.  How  the  waters 
pass  with  Lady  Cardigan  and  Miss  Pitt,  The  Rhenish  with  the 
Germans,  and  the  days  with  myself.  These  are  inducements  to 
write,  which  I  am  sure  you  can't  resist,  so  direct  your  letters  to  me 
at  Aix  till  the  seventh  of  June  O.  S.  and  after  that  at  Spaa,  till  the 
7th  of  August. 

Adieu.  May  you  continue  to  enjoy  the  Beggars  blessing  in 
the  same  perfection  you  do  at  present ;  the  first  part  of  which  you 
communicate  so  liberally  to  your  female  friends,  and  the  latter 
part  to  your  male  ones. 

Yours  sincerely, 

Chesterfield. 


Spaa,  June  ye  20th,  i'J4T. 

Sr, 

The  Laudet  diversa  sequentes  has  always  been  a  very 
common  case,  and  I  find  it  is  both  yours  and  mine ;  In  full 
possession  of  all  les  plaisirs  maniahleSy  you  despise  'em ;  while 
robb'd  of  'em  all,  I  regret  the  loss,  and  lament  being  reduc'd  to 
those  of  the  mind.  I  think  I  am  in  the  right,  for  who  in  Youth, 
health,  and  vigour,  ever  thought  of  any  pleasures  but  the  maniable 
ones  ?  and  who  will  prove  to  me  that  a  man  is  not  wisest  when 
he    is   strongest?     Must   wisdom    wait   for    relax'd    Nerves,  and 


LETTERS  245 

enfeebl'd  limbs  ?  And  is  our  Understanding  at  the  worst,  when 
our  organs  are  at  the  best  r  Surely  not ;  from  whence  I  conclude 
that  the  pleasures  of  the  mind,  in  meditation,  contemplation,  and 
abstracted  reflections,  are  only  Imaginary  comforts  which  we 
catch  at,  when  sinking  from  the  solid  Joys  of  Life.  But  since 
you  like  'em  so  well,  be  easy,  a  time  will  come  when  you  as  well 
as  others,  will  be  reduc'd  to  'em.  Those  Athletick  calves  will  one 
day  shrink  and  dwindle  into  the  tremulous  supports  of  a  nodding 
superstructure.  Those  Herculean  shoulders,  now  able  to  ease 
Atlas  of  his  burthen,  will  one  day  bend  and  crouch  under  the  load 
of  increasing  years;  Then  you  may  retreat  to  the  comforts  of 
the  mind,  indulge  your  Metaphysician  Genius  in  most  usefull 
researches,  and  preferr  Spirit  to  matter,  and  morall  entitys  to 
naturall  ones.  This  consideration,  I  confess,  is  an  ill  natur'd  sort 
of  a  comfort  to  me  in  my  unhappy  situation,  and  I  say  to  my  self, 
since  this  must  inevitably  happen  to  Nugent,  who  am  I,  that 
murmur  that  it  has  already  happen'd  to  me  ? 

Apprener  Ames  Vulgaires 
A  Mourir  sans  murmurer, 

is  the  conclusion  of  St  Evremond's  Epitaph  upon  Madame 
Mazarin  which  mutatis  mutandis,  I  apply  to  an  expiring  part  of 
myself. 

....  I  heartily  congratulate  you  as  member  of  Parliament, 
and  would  congratulate  my  country  upon  it,  if  you  could  propa- 
gate your  principles  in  that  house  as  effectually  as  you  have  your 
likeness  in  many  others,  but  there,  I  doubt,  les  plalsirs  maniahles 
in  the  litterall  sense,  will  stand  in  your  way,  with  the  Majority ; 
Though  by  the  by,  I  don't  very  well  know  of  which  side  the 
Majority  is,  considering  our  Victorys  in  Cornwall,  and  Scotland, 
and  no  losses,  that  I  observe  any  where  else.  But  be  that  as  it 
will,  I  fear  I  shall  never  see  any  Majority,  mean  what  they  should 
mean,  and  act  upon  such  principles  as  can  alone  save  our  Constitu- 
tion, a  few  righteous  will  never  save  us,  Gods  Vicegerents  differ- 
ing from  him  a  little  in  that  particular.  Having  mention'd  Gods 
Vicegerents,  whom  I  always  mention  with  Veneration,  I  saw  with 
great  Satisfaction  the  Skull  of  one  of  'em  three  days  ago  at  Aix  la 
Chapelle ;  it  was  that  of  Charlemagne ;  I  examined  it  with  great 
attention  and  found  it  as  hard  as  thick,  and  in  as  good  repair  as  I 
dare  say  it  was  when  crown'd  and  annointed  there  nine  hundred 
and  odd  years  ago.  Which  I  can  only  ascribe  to  the  peculiar  care 
of  heaven,  that  watches  over  those  sacred  and  annointed  Skulls. 
For  the  ignoble  Skull  of  a  Subject  would  no  doubt  in  much  less 
time  have  moulder'd  away  to  its  primitive  dust.     The  best  argu- 


246  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

ment  in  my   mind   that  I  have   mett  with   of  the  Divine  right 
of  Kings. 

I  have  been  here  but  three  days,  full  long  enough  to  find  it  a 
damn'd  disagreable  place,  but  not  long  enough  to  know  what 
compensation  the  waters  will  make  me  for  being  here.  Those 
of  Aix  la  Chapelle  did  me  no  good,  not  having  the  purgative 
effect  upon  me  which  they  usually  have  upon  others.  If  these 
will  do  me  any,  I  am  in  a  disposition  to  receive  it,  being  much 
better  for  my  Journey  and  the  change  of  air.  But  this  is  enough 
of  myself,  and  I  would  not  have  said  so  much,  if  I  had  not  been 
convinc'd  of  the  part  you  take  in  the  existence  and  wellfare  of 
one  whom  you  know  to  be  with  so  much  truth  and  attachment 

Your  most  faithfuU  humble  servant 

Chesterfield. 

Pray  my  compliments  to  Mrs.  Nugent. 

Spaa,  Augst  ye  ist,  1741. 

Sr, 

Since  our  controversy  about  pleasure  is  suspended  at  least, 
or  rather  (as  I  think)  decided  in  my  favour  by  your  yielding; 
your  last  letter  brings  me  to  another  subject  very  opposite  (in  my 
mind)  to  pleasure,  that  is  Politicks,  and  indeed  I  should  begg 
pardon  for  having  ever  mention'd  any  other  Subject  than  Politicks 
to  a  new  Parliament  man.  Come  on  then  Politicks,  and  be  the 
Publick  good  our  Pleasing  theme.  I  congratulate  both  you  and 
my  Country  upon  the  Strength  of  the  minority  in  this  present 
Parliament.  Near  two  hundred  and  seventy  persons  (which  I 
take  the  Minority  to  consist  of)  thus  closely  united  by  the  same 
pure  and  disinterested  Motives,  compacted  together  by  all  the 
tyes  of  honour  and  mutuall  engagements,  and  cemented  by  the 
publick  good,  compose  a  band,  not  only  invincible,  but  irresistible, 
especially  led  as  it  will  be  by  Generals  whom  no  dangers  can 
intimidate,  no  allurements  sooth,  no  temptations  seduce.  From 
this  impenetrable  Macedonian  Phalanx  or  Thundering  Legion, 
(which  you  please)  what  may  the  Nation  expect?  or  rather,  what 
may  it  not  expect  ?  For  my  own  part,  I  anticipate  the  glorious 
Scene,  and  already  look  upon  our  Constitution  as  restor'd,  our 
honour  retriev'd,  and  our  rights  and  Libertys  settl'd  upon  a  Solid 
and  immoveable  basis.  I  am  sensible  that  Sr  Robert,  who  is  at 
once  both  a  Wagg  and  a  boaster,  would  be  apt  to  ridicule  these 
hopes  of  mine  as  fond  and  sanguine ;  He  would  tell  me  possibly 
that  though  indeed  the  Minority  stood  at  present  strong  upon 
paper,  paper  too  might  happen  to  reduce  it,  That  he  knew  the 
price  of  many  and  guessM  the  Price  of  all;  That  the  numbers 


LETTERS  247 

indeed  might  raise  it,  but,  that  still  greater  Numbers,  and  neither 
his  Master  nor  he  must  pay  it.  With  many  other  weak  argu- 
ments of  this  kind  which  he  would  not  fail  to  ur2;e  in  his  usuall 
way.  But  you  and  I  who  know  the  individuals,  know  better 
things.  Fair  Virtue  is  the  Banner  under  which  they  fight.  Amor 
Patriae  their  word,  and  Liberty  their  object.  Go  on  therefore  and 
indulge  your  Joy  at  the  pleasing  prospect ;  The  corruption  of  the 
deceas'd  Parliament  has  putt  on  incorruption  in  this ;  The  Slaves 
of  the  Court  shall  be  vanquish'd,  and  you  shall  lead  Captivity 
Captive.  These  are  the  Triumphs  that  wait,  animate  and  invite 
you  in  your  house ;  But  what  are  we  to  do  or  hope  for  in  ours  ? 
I  am  sure  I  know  not ;  but  I  am  not  without  general  hopes  that 
Providence  by  its  unsearchable  ways  is  working  out  something  for 
our  Good,  since  it  has  now  brought  the  Lords  House  back  to  what 
it  was  in  our  Saviour's  time,  at  once  a  House  of  Prayer,  and  a  Den 
of  Thieves.  Lett  us  now  cast  our  eyes  abroad.  There  the 
waters  seem  troubl'd,  especially  those  that  bathe  Hannover's  proud 
city ;  even  Hungary  water  I  believe  is  but  turbid.  .  .  .  France  seems 
inclin'd  to  fish  in  all  these  troubl'd  Streams.  But  here  again  I 
have  hopes,  from  the  confidence  I  have  in  his  Majesty,  who 
though  he  is  now  acting  as  Mars  upon  the  Continent,  will  doubt- 
less at  his  return  to  the  Empire  of  the  Sea,  Like  Neptune, 
pronounce  the 

Quos  ego  .  .  .  sed  motes  prestat  componere  fluctus. 

And  long  experience  authorizes  me  to  expect  that  he  will  keep 
peace  within  our  walh^  and  plenteousness  within  his  Yalaces. 
Having  thus  fully  consider'd  both  Foreign  and  Domestik  Afi^airs, 
one  word  with  your  leave,  upon  a  much  less  interesting  Subject, 
meaning  your  very  humble  servant.  I  sett  out  from  hence,  thank 
God,  next  Sunday  for  Paris,  where  you  will  direct  your  letters  for 
me,  Chez  Monsieur  Chabert  Banquier,  who  will  give  'em  me  if  I 
am  there,  or  send  'em  after  me  if  I  am  gone  Southward,  which  I 
shall  be  after  a  very  short  stay  at  Paris.  The  Sun,  they  say, 
ripens  minerals,  and  as  I  have  from  these  waters  a  pretty  vein  of 
Iron  in  me  already,  I'le  try  what  his  ravs  in  Provence  and  Langue- 
doc  will  do  with  it.  If  I  could  direct  their  influence,  I  could 
easily  point  out  the  part  where  I  would  have  it  exerted.  But  this 
is  too  trifling  and  sensuall  to  entertain  a  Philosopher  and  a  Senator 
with,  so  I  return  to  the  nobler  operations  of  the  mind,  which  I 
assure  you  direct  or  impell  me  to  be  both  in  actu  primo  and  actu 
secundo 

Your  most  faithfuU  humble  servant, 

Chesterfield. 


248  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Upon  the  Rhone,  between  Dauphine 
and  the  Fivarer,  in  a  boat  that 
lets  in  Water,  Sept.  ye  i^th 
N.S.  1741. 

Sr, 

You  graciously  tell  me  I  may  laugh  till  my  sides  ach  at 
Politicks;  I  tell  you  I  do  laugh,  and  have  laugh'd  for  this  month 
at  least,  till  my  sides  have  ach'd,  without  the  help  of  Politicks. 
We  are  not  reduc'd  to  that  in  this  country,  nor  oblig'd  to  supply 
the  want  of  fancy  and  Imagination  with  the  repetition  of  dull, 
trite,  publick  facts,  and  reasonings  upon  'em.  We  don't  say 
from  mornina;  till  ni2:ht  as  you  do  in  En2;land — Well  the 
Obstinacy  of  the  Queen  of  Hungary  is  unaccountable — She  ought 
to  have  made  up  matters  at  first  with  the  King  of  Prussia  and 
have  got  him  on  her  side — Sr  Robert  must  be  very  uneasy  to  be 
sure,  both  with  regard  to  foreign  affairs  and  to  the  strength  of  the 
minority  in  this  parliament — If  matters  are  well  conducted  he  is 
demolish'd — These,  and  such  like  extraordinary  discoverys,  we 
leave  to  extraordinary  heads,  Modestly  supposing  quil  n  en 
sera  ni  plus  n'l  moins  for  all  we  could  say  upon  those  arduous 
subjects.  But  instead  of  these  dissertations,  nous  faisons  bonne 
Chere,  laugh  and  grow  fat.  All  the  time  I  was  at  Paris  was 
employed  in  enjoying  the  present  good  and  not  in  recollecting  past 
or  anticipating  future  ills.  This  I  hold  to  be  the  Judgment,  and 
will  stick  to  it  as  long  as  I  can,  that  is,  till  decency  obliges  me  to 
return  to  England,  and  gravely  chew  the  cud  of  Politicks  with  you 
wise  men.  I  use  the  word  Decency,  because  I  think  nothing  else 
could  prevail  with  one  to  return  at  all  into  England,  in  the 
present  situation  of  things,  where  no  one  Man,  and  much  less 
myself,  can  imagine  he  can  do  good,  or  that  any  good  is  to  be 
done.  I  seriously  think  I  shall  sacrifice  a  great  deal  when  I  leave 
this  Climate,  and  this  people,  to  return  to  the  Climate  and  the 
people  you  invite  me  to ;  however  as  soon  as  I  have  finished  my 
Southern  course,  I  shall  return  to  Paris  where  I  shall  be  as  much 
within  the  call  of  my  friends  as  in  almost  any  county  in  England 
except  Middlesex.  It  is  really  surprising  how  much  I  find  myself 
the  better  since  I  have  been  in  France  which  makes  me  willing 
to  stay  in  it  as  long  as  I  can,  especially  in  this  delightfuU  part  of 
it.  I  shall  be  at  Avignon  to-night,  in  two  or  three  days  more 
at  Aix,  from  thence  to  Marseilles,  Nismes,  Montpelier,  and 
back  at  Paris  about  the  middle  of  next  month  O.S.  while  you 
meditate  Speeches  in  Parliament,  or  write ;  quod  Qaisi  Varmensis 
Opusenla  vineat.  I  might  with  truth  apply  all  the  rest  of  that  Epistle 
to  you,  but  it  is  too  long  to  transcribe.    When  you  see  me  again  at 


LETTERS  249 

the   rate  I   go  on  you  may  very   probably  see  Epicuri  de  grege 
Porcum,  in  the  plump'd  up  person  of 

Your  most  faithful!  and  attach'd  serv'ant, 

Chesterfield. 

My  compliments  to  Mrs.  Nugent,  who  I  hope  is  well. 

Downing  Street, 
April  1,  1764. 
Dear  Sir, 

How  does  the  Law  of  American  Naturalization  now  stand 
by  the  Several  Provincial  Regulations  &  Encouragements  ?  This 
shou'd  be  known  exactly  &  whether  it  wou'd  be  agreeable  there 
as  well  as  whether  it  wou'd  meet  with  no  opposition  here,  before 
any  positive  Opinion  can  be  given  upon  a  Question  of  this  kind. 
I  shou'd  with  the  greatest  Pleasure  dine  at  Bt.  Wilbraham  Booties 
if  I  was  not  en2:a2;'d  as  vou  know.  I  am  however  obli^'d  to  him 
for  his  intention  of  invitino;  me  which  I  desire  vou  will  tell  him 
with  my  best  Compliments  to  him. 

I  am  ever,  my  Dear  Sir, 
Your  most  Faithful  &  most  obedient  humble  sen^ant, 

George  Grenville.^ 
Rt  Honble  Robert  Nugent. 

Bath,  April  28,  1764. 
My  Dear  Sir, 

Tho'  I  hope  very  soon  to  have  the  Pleasure  of  seeing  you 
in  Town,  &  propose  to  set  out  upon  my  Return  thither  on 
Tuesday  next,  yet  I  cannot  defer  till  then  expressing  my  sincere 
Thanks  to  you  for  your  very  Friendly  attention  in  writing  to  your 
Friends  at  Bristol  who  have  invited  me  to  dine  with  them  & 
have  received  me  in  the  most  obliging  manner  in  every  Particular 
that  was  possible.  We  had  a  very  magnificent  entertainment,  & 
as  cheerfull  a  Meeting  as  cou'd  be.  In  short  your  Influence  pre- 
vailed in  that  Respect  as  well  as  in  your  kind  wishes  towards  me 
&  nothing  cou'd  have  been  more  agreeable  to  us  unless  you  had 
been  present  which  I  am  confident  wou'd  have  greatly  added  to 
the  satisfaction  &  joy  of  the  Whole  Company  as  I  am  sure  it 
wou'd  to  that  of, 

My  Dear  Sir, 
Your  most  Obedient  &  most  affectionate  Humble  sen^ant, 

George  Grenville. 
Rt  Honble  Robt  Nugent 
&:c.,  5cc.,  &c. 

^  Brother  to  the  first  Marquis  of  Buckingham. 


250  MEMOIR    OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Putney,  Septr.  i6,  1752. 
Dear  Sir, 

You  are  desired  to  read  ye  inclosed  tract  with  coolness  & 
attention,  &  your  sentiments  upon  it  will  much  oblige  him  who 
has  ye  greatest  regard  for  them,  &  is  ever  with  ye  greatest 
affection, 

Dear  Sir, 
Your  most  obedt  &  most  humble  Servant, 

H.  Walpole.i 

Mrs.    Walpole    joyns    in    compliments    to   yr   selfe    &    Mrs. 
Nugent. 

Putney,  Novlr.  1,  1752. 
Dear  Sir, 

I  think  my  selfe  extreamly  importunate  that  I  should  be 
amusing  my  selfe  in  ye  neighbourhood  at  a  game  of  I2th  whist, 
when  you  have  taken  ye  trouble  twice  to  call  upon  me,  but  that 
you  may  be  sure  of  finding  me  if  you  will  doe  me  ye  favour  to 
take  a  family  dinner  with  me  this  day  you  will  much  oblige. 

Dear  Sir, 
Yr  most  affectionate  friend  &  humble  servant 

H.  Walpole. 

Cockpitt,  Novlr.  28,  1752. 
Dear  Sir, 

You  may  communicate  to  Lord  Grenville  the  Medley  of 
Politicall  Reflexions  I  lent  you  if  you  think  it  will  stand  ye  test 
of  so  intelligent  &  criticall  a  Judge  in  things  of  that  Nature,  but 
it  must  be  understood  on  this  condition  that  His  Lrdp  will  not 
take  any  notice  to  any  body  whatsoever  of  his  having  seen  it,  and 
that  he  will  read  it  with  this  indulgence,  as  not  being  a  Regular 
Treatise,  but  a  Rapsody  of  thoughts  occasioned  first  by  ye 
difficulty  ye  ministers  were  under  how  to  justifye  ye  omission  of 
ye  treaty  of  17 15  in  ye  specification  of  treatys  to  be  renewed  both 
in  ye  preliminarys  and  in  ye  subsequent  treaty  of  1748  ;  in  wch 
their  opinions  were  much  divided,  that  consideration  lead  me  into 
an  examination  of  all  ye  articles  Sc  my  making  as  went  along  some 
observations  as  occurred  from  my  having  been  conversant  in  foreign 
affairs  as  memorandums  only  for  my  own  satisfaction  ;  ye  latter 
page  relating  to  ye  treaty  concluded  by  Mr.  Keen,  was  wrote  at 
ye  desire  of  a  friend  ;  for  my  sentiments  upon  it. 

I  am  ever  most  affectly  yrs,  &c. 

H.  Walpole. 

^  Horatio,  first  Lord  Walpole  of  Wolterton. 


LETTERS  251 

Cochpitt,  March  ye  29,  1754. 
Dear  Sir, 

It  is  with  great  pleasure  that  I  have  learnt  that  your 
wishes,  and  consequently  mine  with  respect  to  your  selfe,  are  in  a 
manner  compleated,  upon  wch  I  heartily  congratulate  you.  I 
early  saw  great  hopes  of  its  being  done,  and  had  a  mind,  but  upon 
reflection,  thought  it  was  not  proper  for  me  to  take  notice  of  it  to 
you. 

I  am  ever  most  affectly  yrs,  &c., 

H.  Walpole. 
To  R.  Nugent,  esq.,  &c. 

Kensington,  Aug.  14,  1739. 
Dear  Sr, 

I  recieved  yesterday  the  Favor  of  your  Letter,  &  think 
my-self  much  obliged  to  you  for  remembring  me  at  so  great  a 
distance  upon  any  occasion,  but  more  particularly  upon  this,  as 
you  know  how  much  I  have  at  heart  both  the  reputation  & 
profit  of  Doctor  Middleton  in  this  undertaking  ;  but  as  he  wants 
no  assistance  to  advance  the  first,  all  my  aplication  is  to  the  Last. 
I  send  you  inclosed  the  two  dozen  of  Receipts  &  return  you  no 
thanks  in  his  name,  because  I  like  to  flatter  my-self  with  thinking 
his  share  in  this  Favor  is  nothins:  more  than  the  accidental 
Consequence  of  your  desiring  to  oblige 

Dear  Sr, 
Your  most  faithfull  &  obedient  humble  Serv^ant, 

Harvey.1 

To  Robert  Nugent,  Esq.  at  the 
Globe-Coffee-House  in  Essex  Street 
in  Dublin. 

Wolurn  Abley, 
Oct.  30M,  1743. 
Sr, 

As  you  mentioned  to  me  the  last  winter  your  desire  of 
having  some  young  Beech  plants,  I  have  set  aside  10,000  of  them 
for  you,  and  only  wait  your  directions  for  taking  them  out  of  the 
ground  and  sending  them  up  to  you.  They  will  be  easily  carried 
from  hence  by  the  Woburn  Carrier  to  London,  and  I  will  give 
particular  directions  to  have  them  safely  delivered  to  your  house 
in  Dover  Street.  This  season  is  the  most  proper  for  planting  of 
them,  so  shall  send  them  up  immediately  upon  the  receipt  of  your 

*  John,  Lord  Hervey,  father  of  the  second  Earl  of  Bristol. 


252  MEMOIR    OF   EARL   NUGENT 

answer  to  this.  I  must  desire  of  you  that  they  may  be  sent  the 
very  first  opportunity  after  their  arrival  to  Gosfield,  as  the  Success 
of  them  depends  very  much  upon  their  being  put  as  soon  as  may 
be  into  the  Ground.  All  here  join  in  compliments  to  Mrs. 
Nugent  and  yourself. 

I  am,  Sr, 
Your  obedient  humble  Servant, 

Bedford.^ 
Robert  Nugent,  Esq. 

Octlr.  27,  1748. 
Dear  Sr, 

I  have  just  receiv'd  the  honour  of  your  letter  of  yesterday, 
and  immediately  communicated  the  contents  to  Lord  President, 
who  is  of  opinion  with  your  faithfuU  servant,  that  your  letter 
should  be  taken  into  consideration  in  a  General  Councill,  and  as 
next  satturday  morning  is  appointed  for  a  meeting  to  attend  the 
new  Lord  Mayor,  it  is  intended  to  be  taken  into  consideration  att 
that  time,  you  will  therefore,  by  that  post,  hear  what  is  the 
resolution  of  the  Lords  of  the  councill.  We  are  now  taken  up 
with  the  agreeable  office  of  considering,  and  directing  the  proper 
instruments  for  satisfying,  the  Treaty  of  Peace  lately  signed  att 
Aix.  You  will  give  me  leave,  tho'  you  say  nothing  to  me  of  it, 
to  congratulate  you  upon  this  good  news.  You  are  too  good  an 
En2;lishman  not  to  have  seen  with  concern  the  scituation  we  were 
in  the  beginning  of  this  year,  and  I  am  sure  you  are  too  much  an 
Austrian  not  to  rejoyce,  when  we  have  extricated  ourselves  by  a 
Peace  out  of  those  difficultys.  We  have  att  the  same  time  so  far 
taken  care  of  Her  Imperial  Majestys  interest,  as  not  to  disoblige 
her,  but  seem  to  have  so  far  satisfied  her,  that  she  is  an  acceder 
the  very  day  or  day  after  the  signature  of  our  Treaty.  So  much 
for  Politicks,  I  think  we  shan't  diff^er  in  this  point.  I  am  sure 
we  never  shall   in   what  personally   concerns  yourself,  or.   Dear 

Your  faithfuU  and  obedient  servt, 

H.  Pelham. 

August  ye  ;^d,  1751. 
Dear  Sr, 

Since  I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you,  I  have  had  a  full 
conversation  with  your  freind  my  neighbour ;  We  talk'd  as 
frankly  and  as  cordialy  as  you  could  wish,  and  I  flatter  myself  the 

^  John,  fourth  Duke. 


LETTERS  253 

conference  ended  to  our  mutual  satisfaction  both  as  to  publick  and 
private  business  ;  you  were  not  forgot  in  it,  and  I  doubt  not  but  he 
has  given  you  a  fair  and  ample  account  of  what  passM.  Believe 
me,  I  am  your  sincere  freind,  and  humble  servant,  and  to  shew  you 
that  I  am  so,  tho'  I  could  animadvert  upon  some  things  you  said  to 
him  relative  to  your  humble  servant,  I  am  determined  neither  to 
speak  nor  think  of  'em.  I  had  a  letter,  by  the  last  post,  from  the 
gentleman  to  whom  the  offer  was  made  of  Lord  Galways  place, 
before  I  heard  any  thing  of  your  thoughts  or  intentions,  and  I  find 
he  is  come  to  a  resolution  to  accept.  I  understand  you  know  it  is 
Mr.  Herbert  that  is  meant  ;  He  has  been  of  the  board  of  Trade 
upwards  of  twenty  years,  tho'  i?i  it  I  beleive  not  as  many  times. 
You  know  the  connections  I  have  had,  and  now  have  with  that 
family,  how  many  years  they  have  serv'd  the  King,  and  what 
access  almost  every  branch  of  them  have  att  Court.  In  this 
scituation  could  I  refuse  my  good  offices  for  such  a  change  of 
employment,  and  can  you  think  I  have  not  stood  much  stronger 
demands  from  the  same  quarter.  I  hope  therefore  you  will  not 
think  it  neglect  of  you,  that  in  such  circumstances  I  find  myself 
pre-engaged  to  Mr.  Herbert,  and  that  you  will  the  more  readily 
beleive  me,  when  I  assure  you,  upon  my  honour,  I  had  no  Idea  of 
your  acceptance  of  it ;  I  am  confident,  if  you  had  it,  you  would 
not  like  it.  I  presume  the  King  will  scarce  dispose  of  it  actualy 
till  the  meeting  of  the  Parliament,  something  may  become  vacant 
in  the  mean  time,  which  may  answer  your  purpose  ;  tho'  undoubt- 
edly it  is  very  uncertain  :  I  will  take  care  to  have  no  engagements, 
but  what  I  have  already  mention'd  to  you,  that  I  may  at  least  not 
fall  into  an  unwilfull  error  anv  more.  I  have  said  more  on  this 
subject  than  perhaps  is  necessarv,  from  what  I  feel  within  my  self, 
I  shall  trouble  you  no  more  upon  it,  but  let  time  and  truth  speak 
for  me.  The  town  is  so  empty,  that  it  furnishes  little  news,  the 
death  of  the  Duke  of  St.  Albans  and  Lady  Thanet  must  have 
reach'd  you  long  agoe,  the  disposition  of  the  former's  employments 
is  not  yet  declared,  nor  of  the  latter's  estate  yet  publickly  known, 
both  considerable  to  those  persons  who  have  the  good  fortune  to 
draw  the  benefit  tickets.  Wall  is  declared  Ambassador  Extra- 
ordinary from  Spain,  and  has  taken  the  character  upon  him 
accordingly.  Our  letters  from  that  part  of  the  world  are  very 
promising  ,  and  in  my  opinion  this  great  mark  of  distinction  to  Mr. 
Wall  is  a  good  symptom  of  the  disposition  of  His  Court  to  us. 
Great  preparations  are  talk'd  of  for  celebrating  the  expected  birth 
of  a  Duke  of  Burgundy,  if  that  should  happen,  our  young  folks 
may  be  very  merry,  but  the  more  thinking  people  will  know  it  is 
the  worst  event  that  can  happen  to  this  country.     Dear  Nugent 


254  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

think  kindly  of  me,  and  look  kindly  upon  me,  when  I  see  you  ; 
let  me  know  you  have  not  a  worse  opinion  of  me  than  you  used  to 
have  and  you  shall  ever  find  me,  as  far  as  I  am  able,  your 

most  faithfuU  freind  and  servant, 

H.  Pelham. 

My  compliments  to  Mrs.  Nugent. 


Septr.  24,  1 75 1. 
Dear  Sr, 

Tho'  I  had  much  rather  talk  than  write  upon  these  sub- 
jects, yet  after  what  has  confidentialy  pass'd  between  you  and  me  I 
cannot  see  any  vacancy  of  an  honorable  employment  likely  to 
happen  soon,  without  learning  your  thoughts  upon  it,  before  it 
does  happen.  My  old  and  worthy  friend  Mr.  Plumptree  I 
fear  cannot  last  many  days,  he  is,  as  I  suppose  you  know,  Treasurer 
of  the  Ordinance,  the  value  of  the  place  I  am  indeed  a  stranger  to, 
but  I  know  it  was  always  look'd  upon  as  an  employment  of  the 
first  rank.  The  person  that  had  it  immediately  before  Mr.  Plump- 
tree  was  Lieut.  General  Mordaunt  brother  to  the  late  Lord 
Peterborow,  and  one  so  famous  in  his  time,  that  I  conclude  you 
must  have  heard  of  him.  Ever  since  his  death,  which  is  now  full 
thirty  years,  Mr  Plumptree  has  had  it,  who  might  have  changed  it 
during  that  time  for  almost  any  other,  except  the  three  or  four  first 
employments,  but  he  chose  rather  to  stay  where  he  knew  he  was 
pleas'd,  than  to  run  the  risk  of  meeting  with  what  he,  upon  tryal, 
might  not  like  so  well.  I  say  so  much  to  you  on  this  subject,  rather 
as  an  excuse  for  my  offering  to  you  my  good  offices  on  this 
occasion  than  from  any  other  motive.  If  you  like  it,  I  will 
certainly  engage  to  no  other  person,  but  most  zealously  support 
your  interest  with  His  Majesty.  If  you  do  not,  there  is  no  hurt 
done  ;  it  will  be  time  enough  to  talk  to  others  after  I  know  your 
opinion.  Believe  me.  Dear  Nugent,  it  will  be  a  great  pleasure  to  me 
to  have  you  chearfully  as  well  as  zealously  with  us,  and  if  att  any 
time  you  have  thought  me  cold  towards  you,  you  have  mistook  me, 
and  so  far  done  me  wrong.  Your  last  letter  gave  me  great  pleasure, 
for  in  that  I  am  sure  you  did  me  justice  ;  I  will  trouble  you  no 
longer  on  this  head,  but  wait  your  answer,  and  then  act  according 
to  your  commands.  As  your  friend,  and  my  neighbour  is  not 
in  town,  I  have  spoke  of  this  to  no  one,  but  I  hear  my  Brothers 
thoughts  and  disposition  are  the  same  as  mine.  There  is  such  a 
dearth  of  Politicks  att  this  season  of  the  year,  that  I  have  little  or 
nothing  to  send  you.  Sr  Charles  Williams  has  sent  over  a  Treaty 
from  Dresden,  signed  by  him  att  the  Dutch  Minister  sub  sperati ; 


LETTERS  255 

we  have  sent  back  satisfactions,  with  some  few  explanations  ;  as 
you  know  I  am  not  a  favorer  of  Subsidiary  Treaties  in  General, 
I  shall  not  trouble  you  with  my  particular  animadversions  on  this. 
The  great  Genius's  prognosticate  great  good  from  it,  and  the  lesser 
ones,  in  which  number  I  rank  myself,  heartily  wish  they  may  be  in 
the  right.  The  Parliament  will  undoubtedly  meet  early  in  Novem- 
ber, which  I  hope  will  bring  you  to  town  early  ;  if  you  deign 
paying  your  Court  att  St.  James's  on  the  Birth  day  ;  I  hope,  in 
case  my  petition  is  second,  that  you  will  do  me  the  honour  of 
making  one  of  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequers  company.  I 
must  desire  the  favor  of  you  to  make  my  services  acceptable  to 
Mrs.  Nugent,  and  flatter  myself  you  believe  me  with  the  greatest 
truth  and  Respect,  Dear  Sr, 

Your  most  faithfull  and  obedient  servant, 

H.  Pelham. 


Greenwich  House, 
Septr.  27,  175 1. 

Dear  Sr, 

Since  I  wrote  to  you  last,  I  have  learnt  that  the  Treasurer 
of  the  Ordinance's  salary  is  but  five  hundred  pounds  per  ann  : 
which  I  protest  I  did  not  know,  when  I  wrote  to  you.  The 
rest  was  made  up  by  the  interest  of  money  in  their  hands,  and 
such  perquisites,  which  I  presume  you  would,  as  Mr.  Plumptree 
I  understand  does,  give  to  the  Clerk  :  I  do  imagine  therefore  you 
will  not  think  it,  in  this  respect,  of  rank  proper  for  you  to  accept. 
What  led  me  into  thinking  otherwise  was  the  people  that  have 
formerly  had  it,  and  the  certain  knowledge  I  had  of  the  present 
Possessor  being  unwilling  to  change  it  for  much  better  employ- 
ments. But  that  I  find  proceeded  more  from  his  Philosophy  and 
love  of  being  master  of  his  own  time  than  from  any  other  cause. 
As  I  would  by  no  means  deceive  you,  I  thought  it  incumbent 
upon  me  to  give  you  notice  of  what  I  have  now  learnt,  before 
any  single  person  has  heard  that  I  wrote  to  you,  or  that  your 
name  was  ever  mention'd  upon  this  occasion,  except  my  Brother, 
who  I  dare  say,  was  in  as  great  an  error  as  myself.  Dear  Nugent, 
you  are  now  master  of  all  I  do  or  can  know  ;  that  the  office  is  of 
rank  for  any  body  is  certain,  but  that  it  is  very  far  short  of  what 
I  thought  it,  when  I  wrote  to  you,  is  most  true  ;  you  will  there- 
fore in  this  instance  except  the  will  for  the  deed,  judge  entirely 
for  yourself,  and  let  not  any  thing  that  has  pass'd  from  me  be  a 


256  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

byass  on  that  judgment  in  the  least  degree.     If  you  think  I  act 
friendlily  I  have  my  end  ;  and  you  shall  believe  me,  Dear  Sr, 

Your  most  faithfuU  humble  servt, 

H.  Pelham. 

P.S.  Since  writing  w^hat  is  above,  your  kind  letter  is  come  to 
my  hands,  and  I  imagine  what  I  have  already  wrote  is  an  answer 
to  your  several  questions.  I  am  exceedingly  mortified  that  things 
turn  out  as  I  now  find  it.  I  was  in  hopes  we  should  have  open'd 
this  sessions  not  only  friends  but  fellow  servants,  and  that  upon 
such  a  foot  as  you  and  your  best  friends  would  have  thought 
honorable  for  us  both.  I  shall  not  mention  your  name  to  any 
one,  except  my  neighbour^  till  I  see  you  in  London.  I  am  glad 
to  find  it  will  not  be  long  before  we  shall  have  that  pleasure  ;  your 
kind  expressions  give  me  infinite  pleasure,  as  they  are  a  proof  of 
what  I  most  desire,  the  being  understood  by  you  as  a  faithfull 
friend  and  servant, 

H.  P. 

Dear  Sir, 

I  beg  you  would  excuse  my  waiting  on  you  this  evening. 
My  old  friend  Lord  Orford  lyes  att  the  point  of  death,  and  I  have 
such  a  violent  cold  in  my  head  that  I  am  realy  not  fit  for  com- 
pany.    My  best  compliments  to  Mrs.  Nugent,  and  believe  me. 

Dear  Sr, 

Your  most  faithfull  humble  servt, 

H.  Pelham. 
Tuesday  morning. 

Dear  Nugent, 

I  obey  your  commands  in  sending  back  your  Bristol  letters. 
I  heartily  wish  things  may  go  well  there.  I  shall  take  up  no  more 
of  your  time  than  just  to  tell  you  I  am  come  to  town  as  well  as 
ever  I  was  in  my  life,  and  if  I  wanted  any  thing  to  make  me 

better,  the    K s   kind  reception  of  me  this  morning  would 

undoubtedly    contribute    greatly    to    it.     My    compliments    to 
Madam,  and  believe  me  ever  most  faithfully  yrs, 

H.  Pelham. 

Arlington  Street,  Jan.  12th. 

Saville  Row,  Sept.  2^th,  1755. 
Sir, 

I  don't  know  what  Apology  to  make  for  the  Liberty  I  am 
going  to  take,  but  must  depend  on  your  Goodness  for  pardoning 


LETTERS  257 

it.  It  is  in  behalf  of  a  Person  I  am  very  desirous  to  Serve,  & 
whose  Application  for  my  Interest  &  Assistance  I  have  this 
moment  receiv'd  by  Express  from  Chester  for  a  Place  in  the  Gift 
of  the  Lds  of  the  Treasury  just  now  vacant,  bv  the  Death  of 
Jonathan  Lyttler,  it  is  Tide  Surveyor  at  Park  Gate,  the  Persons 
Name  that  I  interest  myself  about  is  George  Boswell,  an  In- 
habitant of  Chester,  &  one  I'm  assured  very  Capable  of  the 
Business,  he  has  a  Wife  &  a  very  numerous  Family,  so  that 
besides  the  great  pleasure  you  would  do  me  in  granting  this 
Request,  you  would  really  do  a  great  Act  of  Charity.  If  I  have 
ask'd  any  thing  improper,  or  been  too  troublesome,  I  must  again 
repeat  that  I  hope  you  will  pardon  it,  in  Consideration  of  the 
Motives  I  have  mention'd,  for  nothing  but  a  very  earnest  desire 
of  Serving  the  Family  I  have  recommended  to  your  Favour,  could 
have  induced  me  to  be  so  troublesome  to  you. 

I  am.  Sir, 
Your  most  Obedient  &  most  Humble  Servant, 

Charlotte  Finxh.^ 

My  Dear  Nugent, 

You  will  be  informed  from  much  better  hands  that  the 
Treaty  is  happily  concluded  &  likely  to  be  observed ;  but  I 
ought  to  send  you  an  Account  of  it,  especially  as  I  am  personally 
concern'd  in  its  consequences.  I  should  be  still  more  unworthy 
than  I  am  of  what  is  allotted  to  me,  if  I  had  ever  directly  or  in- 
directly aspired  to  be  Secretary  at  War  :  But  the  offer  came  in 
such  a  manner  that  I  could  not  but  accept  it  with  great  satisfac- 
tion and  gratitude.  I  should  have  been  a  shabby  dog  to  have 
hesitated  one  moment  about  the  acceptance  of  an  Employment 
which  I  should  have  been  a  Fool  to  have  desired,  &  a  Puppy  to 
have  ask'd.  I  did  not  know  what  was  to  be  my  fate  when  I  saw 
you  last,  &  I  had  hopes  that  I  might  have  profited  by  yr  kind 
Invitation  ;  but  the  communication  I  had  at  Newcastle  House  on 
thursday  morning  stop'd  me  ;  tho'  I  find  the  changes  are  not  to 
take  effect  till  the  meeting  of  Parliament.  I  shall  see  you  on  or 
before  Wednesday  h  I  am  at  all  times  &  in  all  fortunes, 

Dear  Sir, 

most  faithfully  yrs, 

Barrington.^ 

Sepr.  the  37,  1755 

I  beg  leave  to  add  my  best  Respects  to  Mrs.  Nugent  &  to 
Lord  &  Lady  Rochford  if  they  are  with  you. 

^  Lady  Charlotte  Finch  of  the  Winchilsea  family. 

-  Second  Viscount.  s 


258  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Goodwood,  July  2d,  1738. 
Dear  Sir, 

The  Dutchess  of  Richmond  &  I  have  a  great  while  had  a 
mind  to  aske  the  favour  of  you  &  Mrs.  Nugent  to  come  &  pass 
some  time  with  us  this  sumer  at  Goodwood,  butt  that  wee  under- 
stood you  were  a  going  into  Essex,  now  as  Wee  hear  you  are 
still  in  town,  I  am  in  hopes  you  will  both  accept  of  the  proposi- 
tion &  then  the  next  thing  wee  should  aske  is  that  you  would 
lett  us  have  that  pleasure  as  soon  as  you  conveniently  can.  I 
shall  be  in  town  on  Tuesday,  &  if  you  will  give  me  leave  I  will  call 
upon  you  after  court  is  over  to  know  your  resolution  which  I 
hope  will  be  favorable  to  us.  On  Wednesday  wee  are  to  make 
a  Campagne  on  Hounslow  heath,  &  on  Thursday  I  beleive  I  shall 
return  with  lews  excellences  de  Camhis^s  to  Goodwood.  The 
Dutchess  of  Richmond  presents  her  humble  services  to  you  & 
Mrs.  Newgent,  &  hopes  you  will  not  refuse  us  your  company. 

I  am.  Dear  Sir, 

Your  most  faithfuU  Sc  obedient  servant, 

Richmond,  &c.^ 

Tuesday. 

I  am  very  sory,  Dear  Sir,  that  I  can  not  waite  on  you  & 
Mrs.  Nugent  to  dinner  to  day,  being  engaged  to  dine  at  the 
French  Ambassadors,  butt  if  you  will  give  me  leave  will  call  upon 
you  in  my  way  from  Kensington.  Your  accepting  our  proposal 
makes  me  very  happy  as  I  am  sure  it  will  the  Dutchess  of 
Richmond. 

I  am,  Dear  Sir 

Your  faithfull  humble  servant, 

Richmond,  &c. 

Holland  House, 

May  ^S>  ^153- 
Sir, 

I  have  inoculated  my  Son,-  &  do  not  intend  to  be  at  the 
House  till  Monday.  But  To  morrow  I  must  be  at  the  War 
Office  in  the  morning.  If  I  knew  any  time  after  to  morrow 
morning  that  it  would  be  convenient  to  you  to  take  the  air  this 
way,  I  should  be  glad  to  talk  with  you  on  Monday's  Business  and 
would  desire  you  to  call  upon.  Sir, 

Your  most  obedient  &  most  humble  servt, 

H.  F0X.3 

To  R.  Nugent,  Esqr,  Dover  Street. 

^  Second  Duke.  ^  Probably  Charles  James  Fox. 

3  First  Lord  Holland. 


LETTERS  259 

Dear  Sir, 

Upon  receipt  of  yours  I  sent  &  have  obtain'd  a  Discharge 
which  you'll  find  in  the  inclosM  Letter.  Coll  Whitmore  expects 
ten  Guineas  the  usual  Sum  to  the  recruitino;  fund.  Desertion  is  a 
Malady  very  subject  to  Relapses,  I  hope  however  John  Palmer 
will  not  desert  you.  I  am  heartily  glad  you  have  a  Prospect  so 
promising. 

My  Boy  from  extreme  Sc  continued  extreme  Danger  for  4  or  5 
Days  together  has  now  nothing  to  complain  of  but  Weakness 
which  Children  easily  recover. 

I  am  much  obligM  to  you,  Sc  with  sincere  Regard,  Sir, 
Your  Most  Obedient  Sc  Most  Humble  Servt, 

H.  Fox. 
Jpril  27,  1754. 

R.  Nugent,  Esqr. 

I  hear  Mr.  Brigdale  do's  not  answer  your  expectation  Sc  that 
it  is  not  Crede  quod  liaher  ^  kales. 

Dear  Sir, 

Lt.  Nugent  late  of  Shirley's,  recommended  formerly  by 
you,  Sc  I  fear  not  yet  provided  for,  is  now  appointed  a  Lieutt,  Sc 
will  be  the  eldest  Lieutt  but  one  in  the  Re2;iment  now  to  be  rais'd 
under  Coll  Shirley.  Will  you  be  so  good  as  to  acquaint  Him  with 
it,  Sc  me  how  to  direct  to  Him  by  next  Teusdays  Post.  I  am, 
with  the  greatest  Regard,  Sir, 

Your  Most  Obedt  Sc  Most  Humble  Servt, 

H.  Fox. 
IFar  Office,  Octr.  5,  1754. 

R.  Nugent,  Esqr. 

Dear  Sir, 

The  Ltcvs  are  all  eiven  to  such  as  are  already  in  the 
Army  ;  so  I  have  not  forwarded  the  inclos'd.  But  if  you  will 
send  it  with  the  single  alteration  of  putting  Ensigns  instead  of 
Lieutts  Commission,  I  will  certainly  make  good  your  offer. 

If  your  Cozen  John  Nugent  thinks  as  you  do,  He  may  easily 
change  an  Irish  Commission  for  one  in  America,  for  there  are  too 
many  who  think  quite  differently. 

I  am.  Dear  Sir, 

Your  Most  Obedt  Humble  Servt, 

H.  Fox. 
Holland  House,  Octr.  g,  i754- 


26o  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

If  Le  Geyt  don't  accept,  &  you  like  an  Ensigncy  in  one  of 
these  Regiments  for  your  Cozen  J.  Nugent,  let  me  know  it  & 
write  to  Him  in  Ireland  which  I  will  accompany  with  a  Com- 
mission &  an  order  to  Him  to  go  to  Cork  directly. 

Batli,  Octr  ye  i^th,  1754. 
Sir, 

I  know  nothing  of  Bortman's  preferment,  but  what  I  have 
seen  in  the  news-papers,  but  be  that  as  it  will,  I  may  venture  to 
Prophesy  that  it  will  not  be  long  before  your  Cousin  John  Nugent 
is  a  Military  man,  your  two  Advocates  are  very  zealous  in  the 
Cause,  and  desire  their  best  Compliments  to  you. 
I  am  with  the  truest  esteem, 

your  faithfull  and  most  obedient  humble  servant, 

Dorset.^ 

May  I  trouble  you  with  my  best  respects  to  Mrs.  Nugent. 

Dear  Sir, 

The  Duke  says  Lt  Padget  is  a  gallant  officer  &  He  is 

very  glad  to  grant  the  Request  of  Bristol.    To  its  Mayor  therefore 

I  am  sending  a  Letter  by  express  of  which  the  inclos'd  is  a  Copy. 

If  you  send  any  Letter  back  by  the  Bearer  &  immediately  it 

may  go  by  the  same  Express. 

May  all  your  Commands  be  obey'd  with  as  much  Expedition  & 
Inclination  as  these  have  been  by,  Dr  Sir, 

Yours  most  sincerely, 

H.  Fox. 
Sunday,  Novr.  17,  1754. 

Mr.  Nugent. 

To  The  Honble  R.  Nugent,  Esqr,  in  Dover  Street. 

Sunday,  17  Nov.,  i7^4« 
Sir, 

H.R.Hs.  The  Duke  is  very  glad  to  receive  from  You  and 
Your  Brethren,  an  application  in  favour  of  so  gallant  a  Man  as 
Lt  Padgett,  &  has  immediately  comply'd  with  it. 

Mr.  Padgett  must  immediately  embark  for  Cork  where  He 
shall  find  himself  a  Captain  in  Sir  Wm  Pepperels  Regiment,  and 
I  will  send  His  Commission  to  be  there  deliver'd  to  Him  by  the 
Major  of  the  Regiment. 

1  First  Duke. 


LETTERS  261 

Lt  Pado^ett  must  zo  instantly  &  without  delay  wherefore  I 
send  this  letter  by  Express  hoping  you  will  use  the  utmost 
Expedition  in  imparting  to  him  the  Contents  of  it. 

I  am  &c., 

H.  Fox. 
17  Now.,  1754. 

Cop7  of  The  Secretar}^  at  War's  letter  to  The  Mayor  of  Bristol. 

Saturday  Morn. 
Dear  Sr, 

I  hayegone  thro'yr  book  and  I  assure  you  wthout  Compliment 
it  appeares  to  me  a  yery  ingenious  as  well  as  honest  intentioned 
performance,  but  you  will  forgive  me  if  I  think  the  first  parts  of 
it  particularly  extreamely  speculative,  &  as  such  liable  to  a  great 
deal  of  dispute,  &  I  imagine  you  to  be  a  truer  freind  to  liberty 
than  to  be  willing  to  trust  its  Cause  upon  the  uncertain  foundation 
of  Metaphisicall  deductions.  Give  me  leave  to  steal  a  quotation 
outofyr  14th  chap:  A  prescription  wch  explains  what  I  mean 
better  than  I  can  do  it  in  other  words.  "  The  most  usefull  truths 
"  are  simple  &  easy  in  proportion  to  their  necessity  :  there  are 
"  few  minds  too  narrow  to  take  in  the  more  necessary  truths  : 
"  they  are  formed  to  a  certain  standard,  &  if  in  general!  they  do 
"  not  rise  beyond  it,  it  may  be  so  ordained  that  we  may  be 
"  Confined  from  ramblins;  into  useless  researches." 

Forgive  the  liberty  wth  wch  I  give  you  my  thoughts,  &  believe 
me  to  be  wth  2;reat  truth 

Yr  faithfull  humble  servant, 

W.  Wyndham. 

TFensday  night,  eleven  a  clock. 
Dear  Sir, 

I  am  Sure  yr  Good  Heart  Can  Conceive  what  anothers 
must  feel  for  an  obligation  such  as  you  have  Laid  upon  my  Lord 
Southwell  &  my  self.  I  must  acquaint  you  that  my  Lord  was 
Soe  Senceable  of  yr  Goodness,  that  he  would  not  eat  his  Dinner 
till  he  Sent  to  yr  House  to  enquire  if  theer  was  a  posebiltye  of 
seeing  you  that  he  might  in  person  thank  you.  he  heard  that 
cood  not  Be  Done  BeCause  you  Dined  abroad,  &  was  not 
expected  Home  till  eleven  a  Clock  to  night,  to  Morrow  Morning 
he  waits  on  you,  to  thank  you  with  the  Most  Gratefull  Heart,  as 
to  me,  noe  words  Can  express  what  I  feel  for  the  freindShip  you 
have  Shew'd  to  us.  ye  Moment  my  Lord  Came  from  the 
Treasurye,  I  Sent  an  express  to  the  Dutches  of  Newcastle  with  a 


262  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Letter  of  Thanks,  which  I  had  Great  Reason  to  Doe,  &  am  verry 
much  obHged  to  you  for  putting  me  in  mind  of  it.  I  finnish  now 
Dr  Sir,  with  Returning  you  my  Best  thanks 

&  am  yr  most  obHged  &  ever  faithfull  obedient 

Humble  Servant, 

M.  Southwell.^ 

My  Dear  Nugent, 

Ministers  &  those  who  stand  so  near  ministers  as  you 
do  must  expect  to  be  pestered  with  suitors.  This  is  a  Tax  from 
wch  you  have  no  right  to  be  exempt,  especially  from  those  who 
for  so  many  years  have  lived  upon  the  Terms  you  &  I  have  done. 
I  lay  a  claim  therefore  to  your  Assistance. 

It  is  thought  the  Receiver  genl  of  the  Land  tax  for  Bed- 
forshire  cannot  live  many  months.  No  Commoner  in  that  County 
is  more  interested  in  the  Appointmt  of  a  proper  Officer  to  that 
Post  because  there  is  none  who  contributes  to  the  Land  Tax 
there  so  much  as  I  do.  I  shd  therefore  wish  to  recommend  one. 
I  do  not  pretend  to  interfere  wth  the  Recommendations  of  great 
Dukes  if  any  such  shd  come  to  the  Treasury.  When  Stars  of 
such  Magnitude  appear,  we  little  meteors  (who  are  supposed  to 
rise,  you  know,  from  a  Bog)  hide  our  diminished  Heads.  But 
if  no  superior  claim  intervenes,  I  desire  thro'  your  means  to 
obtain  the  Nomination,  I  will  answer  to  you,  &  you  will  trust 
me  that  I  will  recommend  none  whose  Principles  &  consider- 
ation will  not  justify  such  a  mark  of  Favour  being  conferred  by 
the  Government. 

You  will  tell  me  perhaps  that  you  are  not  the  Person  to  dispose 
of  these  Posts  &  that  I  ought  to  apply  to  the  Head  of  the 
Treasury  :  I  would  not  on  any  Account  be  wanting  in  any  mark 
of  respect  due  to  that  great  Officer.  But  I  apply  to  you  on  the 
Footing  of  old  friendship,  because  that  in  my  opinion  is  the  only 
Title  wch  one  can  have  to  ASK  Favours.  I  might  add  too,  that 
from  my  first  entrance  into  Life  to  this  Hour  I  have  never  had 
a  single  Reason  to  think  that  one  of  my  Name  would  be  permitted 
to  receive  Favours.  But  when  your  merit  and  my  Demerit  are 
blended  together  I  shall  be  absorbed  in  the  composition.  Stand 
forth  therefore  with  your  broad  shoulders  &  support  the  very 
humble  Pretensions  of 

Yr  faithfull  friend  &  Servt, 

Tho  :  Potter. 

June  2Sth,  1755. 

^  Margaret,  wife  of  Thomas,  first  Viscount  Southwell. 


LETTERS  263 

My  Dear  Nugent, 

If  the  inclosed  is  to  your  satisfaction,  use  it  as  you  please, 
if  it  is  not,  burn  it  &  think  no  more  of  its  Contents.     Do  not 

mistake   mv  Situation.     It   is   not    as    it    was    in    Mr.    P ms 

Time.  If  I  am  upon  no  footing  of  friendship  with  my  Neighbours 
yet  I  am  upon  no  Footing  of  hostility  as  I  then  was.  Nor  do  I 
apply  on  any  such  Purposes.  I  feel  the  Weight  my  Property 
gives  me.  I  have  a  Right  to  ask  what  I  now  apply  for,  but  there 
are  those  whose  superior  Property  gives  a  superior  Title.  I  shd 
think  however,  &  I  beleive  my  opinion  well  founded,  that  no 
Application  whatever  will  be  made  directly  from  a  certain 
Quarter.  Some  friend  will  probably  come  recommended  by  some 
Side  Wind,  but  not  directly. 

I  write  this  from  the  Jacobite,  old  Interest  Ld  Wenmans.  I 
leave  it  to  Day  &  proceed  Westward.  Letters  will  find  me  at 
Dr  Milles'  at  Exeter. 

I  am,  my  Dear  Nugents' 

very  faithfully, 
Tho  :  Potter. 

June  2gth,  1755. 

Liverpool,  April  15,  1755. 
Sir, 

Mr.  Chas  Pole  havino;  wrote  us  our  whole  affair  about 
Africa  had  been  lost  but  for  your  Self  I  am  order'd  by  our 
Merchants  to  return  vou  our  hearty  thanks  for  it  &  be  assur'd 
shall  always  retain  a  gratefuU  sense  of  your  kind  assistance  on 
this  acct. 

I  am  got  much  better  since  mv  return  but  I  was  very  poorly  at 
London  &  my  bad  Health  depriv'd  me  of  all  Spirits. 

I  am  with  true  Regard,  Sir, 

Your  very  hum.  Servt, 

John  Hardman.^ 

P.S.  If  Mr.  Clegg  writes  you  about  his  Son  a  Sailor  I  know 
you'll  serve  him  if  you  can. 

To  Robert  Nugent,  Esq., 
Member  Parliament, 
London. 

^  A  Bristol  man. 


264  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Liverpool,  Jpril  15,  I755- 

The  Letter  with  which  you  were  pleas'd  to  favour  me 
and  Mr.  Pole  informg  Mr.  Hardman  how  bravely  you  stood  for 
us  and  the  Public,  even  against  the  Solicitations  of  the  Bristol 
Agents,  has  warm'd  the  Breasts  of  every  individual  here  that  wish 
well  to  themselves  and  their  Country,  which  many  of  them 
dispair  of  ever  having  the  Pleasure  to  express,  except  by  a  general 
Letter. 

Excuse  my  impatience  not  waiting  such  Forms  to  own  the 
particular  marks  of  vour  respect  to  me  and  my  gratitude  for  the 
honor  done. 

Y.  Obet  Servt, 

John  Welch.^ 

To  Robert  Nugent,  Esqr, 
Member  Parliament, 
London. 

Mr.  Nugent  to  Mr.  Grenville. 

Bath,  October  20,  1764. 

Dear  Sir, 

By  a  letter  lately  received  here,  General  Durouse,  Governor 
of  the  Castle  of  St.  Mawes,  is  dying  or  dead  in  France.  My 
son,  who  is  just  returned  from  Cornwall,  is  very  urgent  with  me 
to  extend  my  request  to  you  upon  that  subject,  and  to  beg  you 
may  be  pleased  to  recommend  him  to  succeed  to  the  Vacancy,  as 
he  finds  that  the  part  which  he  and  I  took  in  the  Cyder  Bill  has 
given  the  Boscawen  family  some  advantages  over  us  among  his 
Constituents.^ 

The  Lords  of  the  Manor  of  St.  Mawes  have  formerly,  in  many 
instances,  been  appointed  to  that  Government,  although  not 
military  men  ;  and  I  am  not  only  Lord  of  the  Manor,  but  pro- 
prietor of  at  least  four-fifths  of  the  town.  There  are  other 
circumstances  which,  if  I  should  die  before  Mr.  Newsham,^  may 
render  it  very  useful  to  my  son's  interest  to  have  this  weight 
thrown  into  his  scale  ;  as  in  that  event,  the  property  which  I 
possess  in  the  borough  would  be  divided  with   Newsham  during 

^  A  Bristol  man. 

2  Colonel  Nugent  was  subsequently  appointed  Governor  of  Sr. 
Mawe's.      He  was  one  of  the  Members  for  the  Borough. 

2  Mr.  Nugent  married  Mrs.  Knight,  formerly  the  widow  of  a  Mr. 
Newsham,  consequently  the  person  here  mentioned  was  his  son-in-law. 


LETTERS  265 

his  life.  After  having  said  all  this,  I  must  say,  what  I  sincerely 
feel,  that  if  a  grant  of  my  extended  request  should  expose  you  ta 
any  difficulties  worthy  of  your  attention,  I  had  much  rather 
depart  from  it  than  have  mine,  or  my  son's  interest,  served  at  your 
expense.  Upon  this  principle  I  never  have,  and  I  think  I  never 
shall  again  trouble  you  with  a  request  for  anything  in  Cornwall, 
which,  by  the  bye,  may  serve  as  one  answer  to  Lord  Falmouth, 
who  under  every  Administration  has  had  an  ample  share  in  favour 
of  his  friends. 

The  Duke  of  Bedford  is  in  excellent  spirits  and  good  humour, 
and  the  Duchess  is  in  love  with  you.  I  am  not  quite  clear,  from 
the  things  she  has  said  to  me,  whether  she  does  not  mean  I  should 
be  a  convenient  person  between  you.  It  is  true  she  talks  much  of 
the  inviolable  union  subsisting  between  the  Duke  and  you,  as  if 
that  were  a  bias  upon  her  inclinations  ;  but  this  is  an  old  device, 
not  to  be  imposed  upon  a  man  of  my  gallantry. 

I  paid  her  in  her  own  coin,  and  told  her  that  if  she  answered 
for  the  Duke,  I  could  answer  for  you,  from  the  things  I  had  heard 
you  say  of  him.  . 

Prouse  ^  is  here,  not  at  all  well,  and  lives  very  much  retired.  I 
have  heard  some  things  of  him,  which  I  do  not  entirely  like, 
although  they  are  only  symptomatic.  Hunt  ^  who  voted  con- 
stantlv  against  us  last  year  is  I  think  in  better  temper,  and  declares 
himself  personally  very  much  your  friend,  but  with  a  But^  which 
will  not  serve  our  purpose.  Suppose  you  was  to  write  me  a  letter 
containing  a  paragraph  relating  to  both,  or  either  of  them,  fit  tor 
them  to  see,  in  answer  to  this  letter  ? 

The  eldest  Buller  is  I  think  in  a  dying  way,  swelled  as  if  he 
had  drunk  a  hogshead  of  cvder  ;  or  rather,  as  if  he  had  swallowed 
the  apples  whole,  for  his  belly  is  as  hard  as  a  board. 

Lord  Strange  is  much  better,  but  not  quite  so  well  as  you  and  I 
wish  him  :  we  drink  your  health  sometimes  together,  and  I  wish 
he  drank  it  only  with  me,  but  he  will  dine  at  the  Tons,  and  he 
loves  jollity.  Sturt^  has  been  here,  and  continues  firmly  yours,  as 
does  mv  2;ood  uncle  Colleton.* 

At  Bristol  I  do  not  believe  now  there  is  one  single  discontented 
man  ;  but  from  the  circumstance  of  the  present  Mayor  being 
brother-in-law  to  Lord  Westmoreland,  which  adds  to  his  influence 
in  the  Corporation,  I  do  not  care  to  press  the  choice  of  a  steward 
to  succeed  Lord  Hardwicke.  Lord  Botetcourt  and  I  have  talked 
this   over,    and    he  is  of  my    opinion.     I  have  seen  a  friend  of 

1  M.P.  for  Somersetshire.  ^  George  Hunt,  M.P.  for  Bodmin^ 

•■^  M.P.  for  Dorsetshire.       ■  *  M.P.  for  Lostwithiel. 


266  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

Conolly's  here,  lately  come  from  Ireland,  who  tells  me  that  he 
has  heard  him  express  hopes  that  his  presence  may  not  be  necessary 
the  next  session  ;  a  letter  from  you  will,  I  daresay,  bring  him,  and 
I  should  think  the  sooner  it  is  writ  the  better.  If  Drax  ^  does 
not  come  to  me,  I  have  thoughts  of  making  him  a  visit.  My  son 
begs  leave  to  join  his  respectful  compliments  and  good  wishes  with 
those  of,  dear  sir. 

Your,  etc.,  etc., 

R.  Nugent. 

Mr.  Nugent  to  Mr.  Grenville. 

Great  George  Street, 

Dec.  4,  1766. 
My  Dear  Sir, 

I  have  this  day  accepted  His  Majesty's  gracious  offer  of  being 
made  First  Lord  of  Trade,  and  have  communicated  my  acceptance 
only  to  two  persons,  with  whom  I  am  obliged  to  take  some 
necessary  arrangements.  It  is  of  some  importance  to  me  that  it 
may  not  be  authentically  known  to  many  for  some  days.  I  flatter 
myself  with  hopes  that  a  change  of  situation  will  produce  no 
abatement  of  that  friendship  with  which  you  have  honoured  me, 
and  which  I  shall  ever  endeavour  to  deserve  by  every  testimony 
of  affection  and  respect,  with  which  I  ever  shall  remain,  dear  Sir, 
Your  most  faithful  and  obedient  servant, 

R.  Nugent. 

May  1st,  1770.  Viscount  Clare,  M.P.  for  Bristol  and  Ex- President  of 
the  Board  of  Trade  to  the  Marquess  Townshend.  Dated  in 
London. 

My  Dear  Lord, 

I  feel  in  common  with  my  late  brothers,  Messrs.  Ellis  and 
Grenville,  your  Excellency's  very  kind  attention  to  our  interests 
although  I  do  not  mean  to  avail  myself  of  it,  as  I  hope  to  qualifye 
in  Ireland.  But  my  Obligation  to  your  Excellency  is  the  very 
same.  I  know  how  well  you  understand  and  have  at  heart  the 
Importance  of  the  Linen  Manufacture  of  Ireland.  I  wish  that 
other  Natives  of  that  Country,  who  are  indebted  to  it,  not  only 
for  their  Existence  but  for  the  means  of  preserving  it,  members  of 
both  Houses  here,  were  half  so  zealous  in  their  Endeavours  for  its 
Service  :  but  many  of  them  forsooth,  are  too  great  to  bend  their 
attention  to  such  low  Concerns,  and  we  were  left,  as  usual,  in  the 

^  Thomas  Erie  Drax,  M.P,  for  Wareham. 


LETTERS  267 

House  of  Commons  with  very  few  indeed  belonging  to  Ireland 
either  by  Birth  or  Fortune,  to  determine  upon  the  Continuance 
of  the  Bounty  now  given  in  Common  to  certain  Species  of  British 
and  Irish  Linens  exported  from  Great  Britain.  The  Friends  of 
Manchester  took  advantage  of  this  thin  Attendance  to  come  to  a 
Compromise  with  the  Scotch,  by  which  a  Part  of  the  Bounty  was 
to  be  taken  off  from  those  Linens  and  apply'd  to  chequed  and 
striped  British  Linens.  I  soon  perceived  and  exposed  the  Injustice 
of  this  Proposition.  The  Scotch  adhered  to  the  Compact  with  us, 
and  the  Friends  to  this  Expedient  did  not  venture  to  propose  it  in 
a  formal  Question  to  the  House.  The  Bounties  upon  Linen  will 
be  continued.  But  as  it  proposed  to  give  also  a  small  Bounty  upon 
British  chequed  and  striped  Linens,  I  shall  try  whether  we  cannot 
obtain  the  same  for  those  of  the  Manufacture  of  Ireland,  which 
are  now  prohibited  to  be  imported  here  by  an  excessive  Duty.  I 
shall  also  endeavour  to  have  the  Bounty  upon  white  and  brown 
Linens  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  which  is  now  absurdly 
confined,  extended  to  printed  Linens  of  the  same  Species.  But 
in  neither  of  these  Propositions  have  I  much  hopes  of  succeeding. 

I  wish  when  there  is  a  Vacancy  at  the  Linen-Board  to  be 
appointed  a  Trustee  ;  and,  without  much  Vanity,  my  Country- 
men ought  to  wish  it  at  least  as  much  as  I  do  ;  for  I  mean,  when 
I  return  into  Ireland  to  make  myself  as  much  as  I  can  master  of 
that  important  subject. 

I  hope  I  said  nothing  in  my  last  Letter  to  convey  an  Idea  to 
you  as  if  you  had  been  reflected  upon  by  your  Country-man,  or 
any  other  person,  in  the  Debate  upon  the  Irish  Pensions.  Not  a 
Glance  of  that  Tendency  was  thrown  out  :  and  when  Justice  was 
done  to  your  Love  for  Ireland  manifested  upon  that  and  every 
other  subject,  it  was  Praise,  not  Vindication.  I  do  not  believe 
we  shall  rise  quite  so  soon  as  was  believed.  I  think  we  shall  sit 
three  weeks  longer,  even  if  no  extraordinary  Event  should  happen. 
Wilkes  is  my  near  Neighbour,  and  passes  every  Day  before  my 
Door  as  unnoticed  and  unattended  as  any  other  passenger. 

Craggs-Clare. 


MY  Dear  osborne,^ 

Instead  of  setting  out  for  Ireland  so  early  as  Trenton  men- 
tioned to  his  wife,  I  have  not  as  yet  positively  fix'd  the  day  :  when 
I  do,  you  shall  know  it  ;  but  under  a  positive  Injunction  not  to  make 
me  a  visit,  which,  however  welcome  it  would  certainly  be  when  I 

^  It  will  be  observed  that  this  letter  was  written  in  the  same  year  as 
his  death. 


268  MEMOIR   OF   EARL   NUGENT 

first  came  here,  if  you  were  not  detained  by  a  Cause  which  has 
my  warmest  wishes,  would  now  be  an  idle  errant,  as  you  would  not 
stay  above  a  Day  or  two  at  most,  as  it  seems  you  have  Servants, 
now  idling  their  Time  in  the  Country,  I  will  order  my  Coach- 
man and  Laundry  maid  to  set  out  in  a  stage-Coach  for  Park-Gate, 
as  soon  as  yours  can  come  to  Town  ;  and  I  will  part  with  the 
Housemaid,  who  has  been  but  a  short  Time  in  my  Service,  take 
your  measures,  therefore,  accordingly,  the  sooner  the  better,  you 
needed  not  to  assure  me  that  you  had  not  divulg'd  my  design  of 
letting  Gosfield,  as  I  never  would  suspect  you  of  divulging  a 
secret,  with  my  best  Compliments  to  mrs.  osborne,  I  am,  Dear 
Osborne, 

most  sincerely  and  afFectly  yrs, 

Craggs  Nugent. 

Bath,  April  4th,  1788. 

To  John  Osborne,  Esq., 

Great  George  Street, 

Westminster. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    MEMOIRS 


APPENDIX    I 

Nugent's  only  son,  Edmund,  by  his  first  wife.  Lady  Emilia 
Plunkett,  was  educated  at  Fagan's  Academy  in  Wine  Tavern 
Street,  Dublin,  where  his  father  had  been  educated  before  him, 
and  also  his  ille2;itimate  half-brother  Robert.  Nuo-ent  subse- 
quently  bought  him  a  commission  in  the  First  Foot  Guards.  In 
1755  he  is  alleged  to  have  married  Elizabeth  Vernon,  but  for 
some  reason,  of  which  no  record  can  be  traced,  this  marriage  was 
afterwards  set  aside,  owing,  perhaps,  to  Robert  Nugent's  instru- 
mentality, or  to  some  flaw  in  the  legitimacy  of  the  marriage,  which 
was  not  discovered  till  too  late  for  rectification.  Sure  it  is, 
however,  that  they  were  married  without  the  consent  of  their 
parents,  and  that  they  remained  in  hiding  some  considerable  time, 
for  in  1756  a  daughter  was  christened  in  Chelsea  Parish  Church 
under  the  name  of  Elizabeth  O'Donnell ;  and  two  sons  were 
christened  in  St.  Andrew's,  Holborn,  on  June  30,  1757,  and  July 
19,  1758,  under  the  names  of  George  and  Edmund  Jones,  and 
educated  at  the  Charterhouse  under  the  name  of  Fennin2;s.  The 
Clandestine  Marriage  Bill  was  passed  about  this  time,  which 
renders  the  solution  not  altogether  untenable,  that  the  young 
couple,  in  their  anxiety  to  escape  the  detection  of  their  parents, 
omitted  some  essential  point  in  the  marriage  service  which  Robert 
Nugent  was  only  too  eager  to  seize  upon  in  order  to  effect  its 
dissolution.  This  seems  the  more  probable,  moreover,  when  we 
find  that  Elizabeth  Vernon,  on  discovering  the  illegitimacy  of 
the  marriage,  left  her  supposed  husband,  returned  to  her  family, 
and  was  eventually  married  to  a  Count  Dupont. 

It  was  not  long  before  Robert  Nugent  forgave  his  son,  acknow- 
ledged his  grand-children,  and  allowed  them  to  assume  the  name 
of  Nugent ;  Elizabeth  was  placed  under  the  care  of  Margaret, 
Nugent's  sister,  but  died  at  an  early  age,  and  the  two  boys  were 
sent  respectively  to  Woolwich  and  into  the  navy.  Elizabeth 
died    young,    but    the    subsequent    achievements   of  George   and 

271 


272  BIOGRAPHICAL   MEMOIRS 

Edmund  went  verv  far  towards  obliterating  the  unfortunate  stain 
which  through  no  fault  of  their  own  sullied  their  names. 

Their  father  meanwhile  became  engaged  to  Miss  Katherine 
Edgar,  and  presented  her  with  a  portrait  of  himself  in  pastilles, 
which  still  hangs  at  the  Red  House,  Ipswich,  the  family  seat  of 
the  Edgars.  He  died,  however,  in  1774,  before  he  was  able  to 
marry  her,  and  Miss  Edgar,  who  was  afterwards  called  in  the 
family  "  Good  Aunt  Vi,"  died  unmarried. 


SERVICES  OF  F.-M.  SIR   GEORGE   NUGENT,   Bart., 

G.C.B.,   M.P. 

This  officer  was  educated  at  the  Roval  Military  Academy  at 
Woolwich  ;  he  was  appointed  to  an  Ensigncy  in  the  39th  Foot 
on   July  5,   1773,    which    regiment    he   joined    at    Gibraltar    in 
February    1774,  where    he    remained    until    March    1776.     On 
November    23,    1775,  he    obtained    a    Lieutenancy    in    the    7th 
Foot  j  in  September  1777  he  joined  his  regiment  at  New  York, 
and  was  employed  in  the  expedition  up  Hudson's  River,  under 
Sir  Henry  Clinton,  for   the  relief  of  General  Burgovne's  army. 
He    was    present    at    the    capture    of  Forts    Montgomery    and 
Clinton,  by  assault  ;    he    then    proceeded  with    his  regiment    to 
Philadelphia,  and  there  remained  till  the  evacuation  of  that  place 
by  the  British,  in  June  1778.     On  April  28  in  the  latter  year  he 
obtained  a  Company  in  the  57th,  and  served  with  that  corps  in 
North    America,  where    he    was    engaged    in    various    desultory 
services  ;  on  May  3,  1782,  he  was  promoted  to  a  Majority  in  the 
57th,  which  he  commanded    during  the  latter  part  of  the  war 
in  that  country;  and  in  November   1783  returned   to  England. 
On  September  8,   1783,   he    received    the    Lieutenant-Colonelcy 
of  the  97th,  and  was    placed    on    half-pay  ;    on   December    26, 
1787,  he  was  appointed  Lieutenant-Colonel  in  the   13th   Foot; 
and    about    the    same    time    first    Aide-de-Camp    to    the    Lord- 
Lieutenant  of  Ireland.     On  June   16,    1789,  he  was  removed  to 
the  Lieutenant-Colonelcy  of  the  4th   Dragoon  Guards  ;  and  on 
October  6,   1790,  exchanged  into  the  Coldstream  Guards.     He 
accompanied  the  brigade  of  Guards  to  the  continent  in  March 
1793,  and  served    the  campaign  of  that  year  in   Flanders.     He 
was  at  the  siege  of  Valenciennes,  battle  of  St.  Amand,  and  action 
at  Lincelles,  &c.,  &c.,  &c.;  and  on  the  army  going  into  winter 
quarters,  he  returned  home  for  the  purpose  of  raising  a  regiment, 
the  85th,  which  he  completed  in  three  months  from  the  date  of 


»  »»»  » ,'   t  » 
♦  •    ,*  »  ♦    . » » 


F.-M.  SIR   GEORGE   NUGENT  273 

the  letter  of  service;  and  then  on  February  28,  1794,  obtained 
the  rank  of  Colonel.  In  September  following  he  accompanied  his 
regiment  to  Walcheren,  where  he  held  the  local  rank  of  Brigadier- 
General  ;  and  in  October  joined  the  armv  of  the  Duke  of 
York,  and  obtained  the  command  of  a  brigade  of  the  line, 
cantoned  in  and  near  to  the  town  of  Tiel  on  the  Waal.  In 
April  1795  he  was  appointed  Brigadier-General  on  the  Staff  in 
Ireland;  Major-General  in  the  army  on  May  3,  1796,  having 
held  the  command  of  the  Northern  district  in  Ireland  durins;  the 
whole  of  the  rebellion  ;  and  Adjutant-General  in  Ireland,  July 
1799,  in  which  situation  he  continued  till  April  i,  1801,  when 
he  was  appointed  Lieutenant-Governor  and  Commander-in-Chief 
of  Jamaica,  with  the  local  rank  of  Lieutenant-General,  and 
where  he  continued  until  February  20,  1806,  when  he  returned 
home.  September  25,  1803,  he  received  the  rank  of  Lieutenant- 
General  in  the  army;  and  on  August  21,  1806,  was  placed  on  the 
Staff  in  Great  Britain,  where  he  continued  till  October  1809. 
On  December  27,  1805,  he  received  the  Colonelcy  of  the  62nd 
Foot;  on  May  26,  1806,  that  of  his  present  regiment,  the  6th 
Foot;  and  the  rank  of  General  on  June  4,  1813.  He  was 
appointed  Commander-in-Chief  of  all  the  King's  and  Company's 
forces  in  the  East  Indies  early  in  the  year  181 1,  and  second  in 
council  at  Calcutta  ;  and  returned  to  England  after  a  four  years' 
absence,  having  been  succeeded  in  his  military  capacity  by  General 
the  Earl  of  Moira. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  a  letter  from  this  officer  to 
Lieutenant-General  Lake,  relative  to  some  of  the  operations 
against  the  rebels  in  Ireland,  which,  from  not  being  published  at 
the  time,  should  be  here  recorded — 

Belfast,  June  13,  1798. 
Sir, 

Having  received  intelligence  on  the  9th  instant,  that  the 
rebels  were  assembling  in  and  about  Saintfield  and  Ballynahinch, 
in  great  force,  I  ordered  Lieutenant-Colonel  Stewart  of  the  33rd 
regiment,  Assistant-Quarter-Master-General,  to  proceed  from 
hence  to  Blaris,  to  take  the  command  of  the  Arg)de  Fencibles, 
with  one  battalion  gun,  together  with  what  dragoons  Major- 
General  Goldie  could  spare  from  Lisburn  and  Hillisborough,  and 
to  proceed  to  Ballynahinch  to  dislodge  any  force  of  the  rebels  he 
should  find  there,  take  post  near  that  place,  and  wait  for  any 
further  orders.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Stewart  reports  that  on  his 
arrival  within  two  miles  of  Ballynahinch,  about  four  o'clock  in 
the  morninaj  of   the   lOth  instant,  he  received  information,  that 


274  BIOGRAPHICAL   MEMOIRS 

the  rebels,  about  700  strong,  were  in  possession  of  the  town,  and 
had  taken  some  yeomanry  prisoners,  who  had  been  stationed  there. 
Finding  that  he  could  not  get  on  soon  enough  with  the  infantry 
and  guns,  he  proceeded  with  small  parties  of  cavalry  in  different 
directions,  and  entered  the  town  ;  but  the  rebels  had  been  informed 
of  his  approach,  and  were  flying  in  large  parties  towards  Saintfield  ; 
about  700  of  them  took  to  the  close  woods  in  front  of  Lord 
Moira's  house,  and  near  the  river.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Stewart 
ordered  the  dragoons  to  surround  the  wood,  which  they  effected 
completely :  and  on  the  arrival  of  the  infantry,  he  sent  two 
companies  of  the  Argyle  Fencibles  and  some  yeomanry  into  the 
wood,  who  killed  between  40  and  50  of  them,  and  the  others 
were  cut  down  by  the  dragoons  in  attempting  to  escape.  The 
rebels  left  the  yeomanry  prisoners  taken  by  them  in  the  town. 
After  Lieutenant-Colonel  Stewart  had  reconnoitred  the  country, 
and  sent  strong  patroles  towards  the  enemy's  camp  at  Saintfield, 
he  took  a  strong  position  near  Ballynahinch.  At  two  o'clock 
P.M.  he  received  my  orders  to  proceed  to  Downpatrick,  and 
secure  that  post,  and  he  arrived  there  with  his  detachment  at 
seven  o'clock  in  the  evening.  The  Lieutenant-Colonel  having 
made  the  necessary  arrangements  for  the  security  of  Downpatrick, 
waited  my  further  orders,  which  he  received  at  half-past  ten 
o'clock  A.M.  of  the  12th  instant,  to  co-operate  with  me  in  an 
attack  on  Saintfield,  &c.,  at  twelve  o'clock  on  that  day.  For  this 
purpose  I  moved  from  Belfast  at  nine  o'clock  a.m.  with  the 
Monaghan  militia  and  Fife  fencibles,  with  60  of  the  22nd  light 
dragoons,  and  a  detachment  of  the  Royal  Artillery  with  6 
six-pounders,  and  2  howitzers.  On  our  approach  to  Saintfield, 
I  found  the  rebels  had  destroyed  several  of  the  bridges,  which 
occasioned  a  considerable  delay ;  on  our  arrival  at  Saintfield,  I 
found  that  the  rebels  had  fled  to  a  strong  post  on  the  Windmill 
Hill,  near  Ballynahinch.  On  my  leaving  Belfast,  I  had  ordered 
Colonel  Stapylton,  with  the  York  fencibles,  100  of  the  Monaghan 
militia,  40  of  the  22nd  light  dragoons,  and  one  field-piece,  to  take 
post  at  Cumber  to  cut  off  the  retreat  of  the  rebels  to  the  Ardes  if 
they  had  stood  at  their  camp  at  Saintfield  :  and  he  reports  that  he 
cut  off  and  destroyed  a  great  number  of  them  when  endeavouring 
to  make  their  escape  that  way.  I  halted  a  short  time  at  Saint- 
field to  obtain  information,  and  finding  that  all  the  inhabitants  in 
and  about  this  place  had  quitted  their  houses,  and  had  joined  the 
rebels,  I  ordered  the  town  of  Saintfield  to  be  burnt.  I  then  pro- 
ceeded towards  Ballynahinch,  and  finding  the  intelligence  I  had 
received  to  be  true,  I  formed  the  Monaghan  regiment  in  line 
fronting   the    Windmill    Hill,    to    wait    for    Lieutenant-Colonel 


F.-M.  SIR   GEORGE   NUGENT  275 

Stewart's  detachment.     The  rebels  were  in  such  numbers  that  I 
was  apprehensive  of  their   turning    my  right  flank,    which    they 
indeed  attempted,  and  which  induced  me  to  form  the  Fife  fencibles 
en    tfotence   with    the    Monaghan    militia.      Lieutenant-Colonel 
Stewart,    with     his    detachment,    strengthened    by    lOO    of  the 
York  fencibles,  and  some  yeomanry  infantry,  from  the  garrison 
of   Downpatrick,    now   joined  me,  and  received  orders    to  form 
on  the  left  of  the  Monaghan  militia,  and  to  drive  the  rebels  from 
their   post    on    Windmill    Hill,    which    they    accomplished    with 
great  gallantry,  and  the  rebels  fled  through  the  town  of  Bally- 
nahinch,    to    the    strong    post    in    Lord    Moira's    domain.     The 
artillery,   under    the    command    of   Major-General    Barber,    now 
commenced  a  cannonade  on  the  rebels  in  the  town  and  on  the 
hill    beyond    it,    which    continued    till    it    became    dark.     Two 
positions   were  taken   on  the  right  and   on  the   left  of  our  post 
to  cover  Downpatrick  and   Hillisborough,  as   well  as  to  prevent 
the  rebels  from  making  their  retreat  by  any  other  route,  than  to 
the  mountains  in  their  rear.     At  day  break  of  the  13th,  I  detached 
Lieutenant-Colonel    Stewart    with    the    Argyle    fencibles,    three 
companies    of  yeomanry,   part  of  the   22nd  light   dragoons,   and 
yeomanry  cavalry,  with    i   six-pounder,  and    i   howitzer,  to  take 
post  on  the  rebels'  right  flank  ;  which  having  effected,  he  began  a 
cannonade  on  them,  and  drove  in  their  out-posts,  who  retreated 
to    the    table    of    the    hill.     Lieutenant-Colonel    Stewart    now 
advanced  within  200  yards  of  the  main  body  of  the  rebels,  when 
they  made  three  different  attempts  with  their  musketry,  supported 
by  a  very  great  number    of  the  pikemen,  to    dislodge  him,  but 
were  completely  beat  back  by  the  steadiness  and  firmness  of  the 
Argyle    fencibles,    and  the  yeomanry,  covered    by    the    gun   and 
howitzer,  served  with  grape,  which  killed  a  great  number  of  rebels, 
many  of  whom  they  carried  off  notwithstanding  our  heavy  fire. 
To  favour  Lieutenant-Colonel  Stewart's  attack,  I    detached   the 
Monaghan  militia,  with  two  field  pieces,  some  yeomanry  infantry, 
and  a  few  of  the  22nd  dragoons  through  the  town,  to  enter  Lord 
Moira's  demesne,  to  attack  the  rebels  in  front,  at  the  same  time  I 
ordered  a  strong  party  of  cavalry  to  watch  their  motions  on  the 
right :   by  these  movements,  together  with  a  cannonade  in  front 
and  on  their  right  flank,  the  rebels  began  to  retreat,  and  it  soon 
became  general,  for  they  fled  in  all  directions  ;  parties  of  dragoons 
were  sent  out,  and  killed    great  numbers    in  the    retreat,  whilst 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Stewart  took  possession  of  their  strong  post 
on  the  hill,  where  he  found  eight  guns  with  a  great  quantity  of 
ammunition,  their  colours,  cars,  provisions,  &c.     A  very  consider- 
able number  of  the  rebels  were  found  concealed  in  the  plantations 


276  BIOGRAPHICAL   MEMOIRS 

near  Lord  Moira's  house,  who  were  killed  there.  The  troops 
having  been  fired  upon  from  the  houses  in  the  town  of  Ballyna- 
hinch,  it  was  set  fire  to,  and  a  considerable  part  of  it  consumed. 
Having  halted  two  hours  to  collect  the  troops,  I  gave  the  necessary 
directions  for  marching  to  Belfast,  &c.  through  Saintfield.  I 
return  my  best  thanks  to  Lieutenant-Colonel  Stewart  for  his  able 
advice  and  assistance  throughout  the  operations  contained  in  this 
letter,  as  well  as  to  the  officers,  non-commissioned  officers,  and 
privates  of  his  corps.  I  also  return  my  best  thanks  to  Major- 
General  Barber,  Captains  Lindsey  and  Coulson,  Lieutenants 
Teesdale  and  Shearman,  of  the  Royal  Artillery,  Colonel  Leslie 
and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Kerr  of  the  Monaghan  Militia,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Durham  of  the  Fife  Fencibles,  Major  Smith  of  the  22nd 
Light  Dragoons,  and  to  all  the  officers,  non-commissioned  officers, 
and  privates  of  the  corps  who  marched  with  me  from  Belfast.  I 
also  return  my  best  thanks  to  Lieutenant  Colonel-Peacocke,  my 
Aid-de-camp,  Major  of  Brigade,  McKinnon,  and  Captian  Owen, 
Assistant-Adjutant-General,  for  their  great  attention  and  ready 
assistance  on  every  occasion. 

(Signed)     George  Nugent,  Major-General. 

Lieutenant-General  Lake, 
Commanding-in-Chief,  &c.  &c.  &c. 


Sir  George  represented  the  Borough  of  Buckingham  in  Parlia- 
ment since  1790,  and  in  1796  was  returned  for  Buckingham 
again  and  for  St.  Mawes,  having  been  appointed  Captain  and 
Keeper  of  St.  Mawes'  Castle.  He  sat  for  Buckingham  until  the 
dissolution  of  the  first  Parliament  of  the  United  Kingdom  in 
December  1800.  On  June  4,  18 13,  he  became  a  full  General,  and 
in  1 81 5  was  made  G.C.B.  In  181 6  he  was  made  an  honorary 
D.C.L.  of  the  University  of  Oxford,  and  in  the  same  year  was 
once  more  returned  for  Buckingham,  which  he  continued  to 
represent  until  the  passing  of  the  Reform  Bill  in  1882.  In  1846 
he  was  made  a  Field-Marshal,  and  on  March  11,  three  years 
afterwards,  died  at  his  seat,  Waddesdon  House,  Little  Marlow, 
Berkshire,  aged  92.  He  had  married  at  Belfast  on  November  16, 
1797,  Maria,  ninth  daughter  of  Courtland  Skinner,  Attorney- 
General  of  New  Jersey,  North  America,  and  by  her  had  three 
sons  and  two  daughters.     She  died  in  1834. 


F.-M.  SIR   GEORGE   NUGENT  277 

Naples,  December  the  6th,  18 15. 

My  Dear  George, 

By  a  letter  I  just  receiv'd  from  Lady  W.  Bentinck,  I  have 
the  certainty  of  Your  being  in  England  and  that  both  You  and 
Lady  Nugent  are  well.  I  shall  be  happy  to  hear  the  confirma- 
tion of  the  latter  from  Yourself,  and  request  You  will  remember 
me  most  affectionately  to  Lady  Nugent.  I  am  longing  to  see 
You,  but  my  present  Employment  will  prevent  that  for  some 
time.  I  have  the  command  of  the  Austrian  forces  in  this  King- 
dom which  is  in  itself  a  post  of  cause  quem,  and  may  become 
more  so. 

I  have  at  length  followed  your  example  my  Dear  Sir  George 
and  am  married  since  the  26th  of  last  month.  I  have  written  to 
Lord  Buckingham  the  circumstances  and  have  every  reason  to 
think  I  have  made  an  excellent  choice.  She  is  niece  to  the  King 
of  Naples,  and  what  is  better  of  a  most  amiable. character.  I  wish 
she  could  make  Lady  Nugent's  acquaintance,  and  as  soon  as  my 
present  employment  is  at  an  end  I  shall  bring  her  to  England. 

I  don't  write  to  Lord  Nugent,  pray  give  him  my  Compliments 
and  inform  him  of  the  change  of  mv  state. 

Believe  me,  my  Dear  Sir  George,  most  faithfully  Yours 

Nugent. 

I  have  written  to  Sir  Hugh  by  the  post,  but  as  that  is  less  secure 
than  this  opportunity,  I  beg  You  will  remember  me  to  him. 
Allow  me  to  request  You  will  forward  the  inclos'd  to  Bath  to  my 
mother. 


My  Dear  Nugent, 

I  return  you  my  most  sincere  thanks  for  your  kind  atten- 
tion and  congratulations  and  to  assure  you  that  I  am  most  happy 
to  learn  that  you  and  Lady  Nugent  are  so  well. 

I  have  no  thoughts  at  present  of  visiting  Plymouth,  but  if  I 
should  be  obliged  to  do  so  Be  assur'd  that  I  will  with  the  greatest 
pleasure  and  satisfaction  take  up  my  abode  with  you  for  a  few 
days. 

With  best  regards  to  Lady  Nugent,  believe  me  ever, 

My  dear  Nugent, 

Most  truly  yours, 

Lake. 
Bond  Street,  October  ist,  1817. 


278  BIOGRAPHICAL   MEMOIRS 

Dunsany  Castle,  11  Nov.  1815. 
My  Dear  Sir  George, 

I  have  had  the  pleasure  to  receive  this  day,  yr  letter  of  the 
3rd  Inst,  relative  to  Mrs.  Byrne's  wish  to  send  her  Daughters  to 
be  under  yr  care  and  Lady  Nugent's.  In  this  she  acts  a  wise  part, 
as  they  could  not  possibly  be  in  better  hands.  As  to  myself,  I 
have  seen  Mrs.  Byrne  but  once  since  her  return  from  Portugal, 
when  she  had  the  goodness  to  bring  her  Daughters  to  see  Lady 
Dunsany  and  me,  and  that  is  I  think  near  two  years  ago,  during 
wch  time  I  have  not  been  in  Dublin  but  once  or  twice.  Her 
health  I  fear  is  very  bad,  as  Mr.  Alen,  whom  you  mention,  writes 
to  me.  He  had  been  detained  a  Prisoner  in  France  for  twelve 
years,  untill  Bonaparte's  Exile  to  Elba,  when  he  got  his  liberty, 
and  returned  to  Dublin,  where  he  now  lives,  in  Mount  Joy 
Square.  He  has  a  Coppy  of  the  Will,  and  I  will  immediately 
write  to  him  to  send  you  a  Coppy  of  the  one  he  has.  I  saw  the 
Will  after  poor  Robert  Byrnes'  death  but  am  as  Ignorant  of  it 
as  yourselfe.  I  know  the  Eldest  Daughter  will,  when  she  is  of 
Age,  possess  the  whole  Estate,  and  the  second  will  have  at  least 
Twenty  thousand  Pounds.  At  the  period  that  the  Marquis  of 
Buckinghamshire  was  Lord  Lieutt  here,  he  wished  to  give  up 
the  Guardianship  of  the  Children  and  Propperty  to  the  Lord 
Chancellor  in  wch  you  joined,  Alen  and  I  did  the  same  ;  and 
since  that  period  I  never  medled  in  their  Affairs.  The  Miss 
Byrnes  seem  to  be  very  amiable  girls,  rather  low  of  stature,  particu- 
larly the  Eldest,  who  is  I  should  think  twenty  yrs.  She  is  the 
picture  of  her  Father,  with  his  large  Eyes.  The  younger  Girl 
has  a  Superior  fine  voice.  Equal  to  Catalani.  They  are  of  course 
allow'd  handsomely  for  their  Support ;  and  I  have  no  doubt  Lord 
Manners  will  not  have  the  smallest  objection  to  their  going  to 
you.  He  must  no  doubt  be  consulted  on  the  Subject,  wch  I  shall 
do  to-morrow,  as  I  have  the  honor  of  being  known  to  him.  I 
think  the  Affairs  of  the  Miss  Byrnes'  must  be  so  aranged,  as  not 
to  require  yr  presence  here,  and  if  Cabantuly  should  be  to  let,  it 
wd  be  by  the  Chancellor  untill  she  is  of  age  ;  so  that  I  think  it 
wd  not  interfere  in  the  smallest  degree  with  any  plan  you  may 
have  formed,  of  going  to  the  Continent,  &c.  anything  I  can  do 
for  you  here.  You  may  freely  command.  Lord  Fingall  has  just 
called  on  me,  he  is  much  Obliged  by  yr  kind  remembrance  of 
him.  He  desires  his  best  regards.  He  has  just  returned  from 
Dublin  and  saw  Mr.  Devereux,  Mrs.  Byrnes'  Brother,  who  told 
him  she  was  rather  mending,  wch  gives  me  much  pleasure.  I 
forgot  to  mention  that  when  Mrs.  Byrne  was  here,  she  talked  of 
going  abroad  for  3  years  to  shew  her  Daughters  the  World  j  well 


F.-M.  SIR   GEORGE    NUGENT  279 

said  I,  if  yo  do,  both  yourselfe  and  yr  Daughters,  will  maray 
Frenchmen  I  think  you  wd  do  better  to  marry  yr  Eldest  to  Lord 
Kilham,  who  is  a  very  good  Young  Man — this  I  know  not  why, 
she  did  not  approve  of — but  mentioned  Lord  Kenmare,  who 
certainly  is  by  farr  the  first  Catholic  match  in  Ireland — he  has  no 
thoughts  of  Marriage.  Lady  D.  and  my  Daughter  unite  with  me 
in  best  Compts  &c.  to  you  and  Lady  Nugent  and  believe  me 
to  be 

My  dear  Sir  George, 

Most  truly  and  sincerely 
Yours 

DUNSANY. 

Sir  G.  Nugent,  Bart.,  etc.  etc. 


Daylesford  house,  22d  March,  1808. 

My  much  loved  friend, 

Your  letter  has  relieved  me  from  a  long  and  anxious  state 
of  suspense  ;  but  substituted  much  worse  feeling  in  its  stead.  I 
grieve  exceedingly  for  your  vexation  ;  and  while  I  relinquish 
without  a  moment's  consideration,  and  almost  without  regret,  that 
which  I  should  otherwise  feel  being  totally  absorbed  by  my  superior 
regard  to  your  interest  and  peace,  I  hope  you  will  not  suffer  any 
other  duty,  or  temptation,  to  draw  you  from  the  care  of  this  suit, 
till  it  has  closed,  as  I  hope  and  trust  it  will,  in  your  favor. 

My  letter  to  you  was  written  on  the  instant  of  the  receipt  of 
one  from  L.  J.  Impey  to  Mrs.  Hastings  apprising  her  that  you 
were  going  or  gone  to  London.  I  have  been  in  a  peck  of  troubles 
since,  not  knowing  in  what  corner  of  the  globe  to  seek  you.  At 
length  I  wrote  to  Sir  Elijah,  on  last  Sunday  j  and  on  the  supposi- 
tion of  your  having  returned  to  Brighton,  or  of  not  having  quitted 
it,  proposed  to  recur  to  our  first  engagement,  in  the  hopes,  and 
almost  assurance,  of  meeting  you  and  dear  Mrs.  Osborne  at 
Newick.  I  'suspect  that  my  letter  will  have  puzzled  him,  as 
much  as  I  have  been  puzzled  ;  and  will  write  to  him  again  to 
morrow,  to  unpuzzle  him,  and  apprise  him  of  the  day  on  which 
we  may  fulfill  our  long  engagement  to  him  and  Lady  Impey. 
We  shall  necessarily  bait,  not  probably  beyond  a  week,  in  London. 
Mrs.  Hastings'  health  will  require  it,  even  for  repose,  though  I 
verily  believe  that  if  she  could  pass  the  ensuing  six  months  in 
friendly  residences,  &  intermediate  movements  upon  the  road, 
she  would  gain  more  health  from  it,  than  even  from  the  prescrip- 
tions of  Dr.  Vaughan,  and  the  equal  efficacy  of  her  confidence 
in  his  medical  skill.     I  will   let  you  know,  as  soon  as  we  have 


28o  BIOGRAPHICAL   MEMOIRS 

decidedly  formed  our  plan  :  and  I  pray  you,  let  me  hear  from  you 
sometimes,  that  I  may  not  again  have  to  make  hue  &  cry  after 
you.  When  your  mind  is  at  ease,  and  you  have  no  longer  any 
litigation  to  disturb  it.  We  shall  be  most  happy  to  see  you  and 
dear  Mrs.  Osborne  at  Daylesford  in  Summer,  Autumn  or  Winter. 
I  am  afFraid  I  must  of  necessity  restrict  our  hopes  of  visiting 
Melchet  to  the  mild  seasons  of  the  year,  as  Mrs.  Hastings  is  most 
liable  to  the  recurrences  of  sickness  in  the  winter,  and  feels  every 
impending  shov^er  of  snow  with  the  certainty  of  a  barometer. 
We  both  desire  you  to  accept  and  to  present  to  your  dear  Lady 
the  assurance  of  our  best  wishes  and  unalterable  regard. 

Y.  ever  affectionate 

Warren  Hastings. 


Londo?i,  jfune  19,  1830. 
My  Dear  General, 

I  have  received  Your  Letter  and  I  assure  you  that  I  know 
nothing  more  painful  than  it  is  to  receive  Applications  daily  and 
not  to  have  it  in  my  Power  to  comply  with  any  of  them. 

I  have  nothing  to  say  to  the  Selection  of  officers  to  be  appointed 
to  any  of  the  great  Governments  excepting  a  Negative. 

In  this  Case  of  the  Vacancy  occasioned  by  the  Death  of  Lord 
Harcourt  I  know  that  the  King  has  desired  that  a  Promise  should 
be  made  to  a  particular  officer. 

Believe  me  ever  yours  most  sincerely, 

Wellington. 


Isle  of  Many 

Janry  ^t/i,  181 2. 
Sir, 

Give  me  leave  to  Express  the  Obligation  I  feel  by  your 
very  kind  Attention  to  the  Interests  of  my  Son  in  Law  Lieut. 
Col.  M.  Murray,  of  which  be  assured  I  shall  ever  retain  a  gratefuU 
remembrance. 

I  have  the  honour  to  remain 
Your  most  Obt 

&  Obliged  Humble  Servt., 

Bt.  Atholl. 
Sir  G.  Nugent, 

Sec.  &c.  5t;c. 


F.-M.  SIR   GEORGE   NUGENT  281 

Gosford, 

April  ijth,  1800. 

My  Dear  General, 

Accept  my  warmest  Thanks  for  this  additional  instance  of 
your  Friendship,  the  morning  I  received  yours  my  son  went 
with  a  young  Party  to  Tandragee.  he  is  not  yet  returned,  so 
have  not  had  an  opportunity  of  communicating  the  contents  of 
your  Letter  to  him.  I  can  therefore  only  answer  such  parts  as 
concern  myself. 

You  know  I  have  in  this  important  question  left  my  son  to  act 
as  his  Judgment  dictated — motives  such  as  I  think  no  Father 
could  oppose,  directed  him  to  take  an  opposite  part  to  mine,  and 
tho'  I  should  have  been  well  pleased  had  we  on  this  as  on  every 
occasion  gone  hand  in  hand  together,  yet  must  I  feel  highly  grati- 
fied by  the  honorable  principles  that  induced  him  to  forego  the 
advantages  that  would  probably  have  resulted  from  our  having 
acted  in  conjunction  rather  than  deviate  from  that  sense  of  recti- 
tude that  was  always  my  ambition  to  inculcate  in  him.  I  must 
still  leave  him  to  himself,  I  find  it  impossible  to  urge  him  on  this 
subject,  as  soon  as  I  know  his  sentiments  I  will  impart  them 
to  you. 

Give  me  leave  my  Good  Friend  to  state  that  tho'  I  have  not  in 
this  instance  exerted  an  influence  that  might  have  been  useful  to 
Government  in  Parliament,  yet  it  has  in  no  other  instance  been 
neglected,  and  I  conceive  that  the  strenuous  support  I  have  given 
to  the  measure  in  question  has  enabled  me  to  have  been  essentially 
serviceable  in  this  County,  which  otherways  would  have  been 
nearly  unanimous  in  opposition  to  Governt.,  &  would  have  beyond 
a  doubt  have  returned  a  representative  that  would  have  added 
another  County  Member  to  the  opposition  Lists — in  this  I  do  not 
assert  more  than  every  impartial  man  in  this  County  must 
acknowledge. 

I  never  mentioned  the  subject  you  allude  to,  to  His  Excellency 
'till  a  few  days  before  I  left  town,  when  I  requested  to  know 
whither  He  intended  to  honor  me  with  His  recommendation  as 
one  of  the  Twenty  Eight.  His  Ex  :  replied  that  there  would  be 
difficulty  in  answering  the  many  claimants,  but  that  I  had  His 
good  wishes. 

My  Ideas  upon  this  matter  are,  that  should  His  Excellency 
honor  me  with  this  mark  of  his  favor,  I  should  esteem  it  as  it 
deserves,  &  feel  highly  flattered — but  if  I  could  only  expect  it  in 
consequence  of  urging  my  son  to  take  a  part  that  might  in  future 
create  an  unpleasant  reflection  in  his  mind,  I  would  rather  relin- 
quish the  flattering  Idea  that  the  repeated  proofs  I  have  given  of 


282  BIOGRAPHICAL   MEMOIRS 

Fidelity  &  attachment  to  my  King  and  His  Government  might 
have  made  me  an  object  worthy  of  Their  consideration. 

I  must  rest  satisfied  with  a  retirement  very  congenial  to  my 
nature,  which  nothing  but  the  wish  of  being  serviceable  to  my 
Family  could  induce  me  to  forego. 

I  write  this  sitting  up  in  my  Bed  where  I  have  been  confined 
with  a  billious  attack  but  would  not  longer  delay  acknowledging 
the  receipt  of  your  Letter. 

I  should  apologize,  my  Good  General,  for  taking  up  so  much 
of  your  time. 

Believe  me  with  great  regard  and  esteem 

Most  Truly  Yours, 

GOSFORD. 

Sir  Geo.  Nugent. 


Horseguards, 

July  12th,  1825. 
My  dear  Sir  George, 

I  have  to  offer  many  Apologies  to  you  for  not  having 
earlier  replied  to  Your  Letter  of  the  20th  June  enclosing  one 
from  Lord  Charles  Somerset  which  I  return.  Why  he  should 
have  written  to  you  on  the  Subject  of  the  6th  Regt.  I  really 
cannot  understand  as  neither  Your  Name  or  Colonel  Napier's 
were  mentioned  in  any  Communication  from  me.  I  wrote  to 
him  on  the  i8th  Feby.  &  again  on  30th  August  1824,  and  in  both 
Instances  referred  to  the  Return  of  the  Regt.  as  the  Source  of 
the  Information  received  by  H.  R.  H.  of  the  Dispersion  of  the 
Corps  and  its  Field  Officers,  as  indeed  the  Return  was  the  Record 
consulted. 

I  now  enclose  for  your  private  Information  a  Copy  of  my  last 
Letter  to  Lord  Charles  (that  of  30th  August  I  mean),  as  it  will 
serve  to  explain  to  you  the  real  ground  of  His  Soreness  and  when 
I  add  that  it  has  since  been  removed  by  the  re-appointment  of 
Lt.  Col.  Somerset  to  the  Cape  Corps,  I  may  observe  that  a  very 
short  answer  from  you  will  answer  my  purpose,  nor  is  it  at  all 
necessary  that  you  should  saddle  Yourself  or  Colonel  Napier  with 
the  question. 

Believe  me  to  be  ever 

My  dear  Sir  George, 

Most  sincerely  Yours 

C.  H.  Taylor. 

General  Sir  George  Nugent,  Bart.,  G.C.B. 


F.-M.  SIR   GEORGE   NUGENT  283 


Camp  leyond  the  Ford  of  the 
Ganges  at  Asophghur, 

Deer.  22d.  1814. 

My  dear  Sir  George, 

It  has  been  already  explained  to  you  that  a  prior  engage- 
ment prevented  my  gratifying  myself  in  confirming  your  nomina- 
tion of  Lieut.  Davidson  to  the  command  of  the  Sylhet  Battalion. 
I  had  promised  Mr.  Seton  that  the  first  Corps  of  that  nature  which 
became  dispensable  should  be  bestowed  on  Sir  Robert  Colquhoun. 
The  latter  eagerly  accepted  the  offer  of  the  Sylhet  Corps,  tho'  I 
was  doubtful  as  to  its  being  on  a  footing  that  would  be  agreeable. 
Of  course  I  was  obliged  to  let  him  have  it :  and  I  request  that 
you  will  have  the  kindness  to  cause  the  appointment  to  be  rectified 
accordingly.  Lt.  Davidson  has  been  assured  that  your  wishes  for 
his  advantage  shall  not  be  unfruitful. 

Herewith  I  send  to  you  the  copy  of  a  Letter  from  Lord  Buck- 
inghamshire, &  an  extract  from  a  letter  of  Governor  Farquhar's  to 
me.  They  both  relate  to  public  points,  &  are  in  their  way  satis- 
factory. As  a  kind  of  supplement  to  them,  I  will  transcribe  two 
or  three  Passages  from  a  confidential  letter  of  Mr.  Elphinstone,  the 
Chairman's,  to  me.  "  Peace  is  now  made,  &  the  terms  ratified 
"  two  days  ago.  A  King's  Ship  will  be  sent  to  give  you  the 
''  details  as  they  respect  India.  These  with  Holland  are  not  yet 
"  settled  but  will  be  very  soon  ;  so  that  as  soon  as  they  have  been 
"  submitted  to  Parliament  we  may  expect  the  Ship  to  be  de- 
''  spatched."  "  The  expense  of  the  Judicial  System  is  enormous 
"  and  by  no  means  answers.  It  requires  much  amendment."  "  I 
"  wish  you  had  not  sent  home  the  treasure.  We  once  thought  of 
^'  sending  it  back ;  which  indeed  we  may  yet  do,  for  we  are  richer 
"  at  home  than  you  are,  the  Investments  have  sold  so  well." 

Now,  as  to  this  treasure  ;  the  remitting  it  was  the  thing  of  all 
others  upon  me.  Had  not  the  Peace  taken  place,  the  Directors 
would  have  made  ^^  150,000  by  the  sale  of  that  gold. 

The  evacuation  of  Nahun  speaks  intelligibly  the  formidable 
impressions  made  by  the  suff"erings  of  the  Garrison  of  Kalinga  by 
our  Shells.  The  abandonment  of  so  strong  a  Position,  after  it  had 
been  fortified  with  such  labor,  will  produce  great  effect  on  the 
minds  of  the  People  throughout  that  Country.  It  is  a  confession 
of  alarm  which  will  dispel  the  extravagant  notion  entertained  of 
the  prowess  of  the  Gorkhas.  All  now  looks  well  in  that  quarter. 
The  whole  of  Kamaoon  would  have  been  ours  at  this  moment 
had  I  had  only  one  Battalion  to  send  thither.  I  am  making 
Colonel  Gardner  raise  Alligoles  for  the  purpose,  but  it  is  wretched 


284  BIOGRAPHICAL   MEMOIRS 

to  be  driven  to  such  substitutes  for  the  disposable  force  which  we 
ought  to  possess. 

Adieu,  my  Dear  George.     I  have  the  Honor  to  remain  with 
high  regard 

Your  Excellency's 

Very  faithful  Servt, 

MoiRA. 
H.  E.  Sir  G.  Nugent,  &c.  &c.  &c. 


Richmond  Park, 

April  ye  i^tli,  181 1. 

Dear  Sir, 

I  am  persuaded  you  will  excuse  the  Liberty  I  take  in 
introducing  to  your  notice  Captn.  Pester,  who  will,  I  hope,  have 
the  Honor  of  delivering  to  you  this  Letter.  He  is  in  the  Service 
of  the  East  India  Company,  &  on  the  Bengal  Establishment. 
Lord  Lake,  under  whom  He  serv'd  in  two  Campaigns,  had,  I 
know,  a  very  high  opinion  of  Him;  &  He  possess'd  the  Friendship 
of  Col.  Lake,  who  fell  at  Vimeira.  His  Talents  are  considerable, 
&  I  am  convinced  that  He  would  prove  worthy  of  any  Confidence 
that  might  be  reposed  in  him.  Unfortunately  his  State  of  Health 
obliged  Him  to  leave  India,  &  He  is  now  on  the  Point  of  return- 
ing, before  it  is  reestablish'd.  There  is  accordingly  too  much 
Reason  to  fear  that  He  will  be  unequal  to  those  active  Exertions, 
to  which  He  would  be  impell'd  by  the  Zeal  and  Ardour  of  his 
mind.  The  Interest  I  take  in  his  Wellfare  has  overcome  my 
Unwillingness  to  trouble  you,  &  I  therefore  venture  to  recommend 
Captn.  Pester  very  earnestly  to  your  Favor,  &  Protection. 

Accept  my  best  Wishes  for  your  Health,  Sc  Success  in  the 
honourable  Situation  in  which  you  are  deservedly  placed,  &  believe 
me  to  be,  with  sincere  esteem.  Dear  Sir, 

Your  faithful  Sc  obedient  humble  Servt., 

SiDMOUTH. 


Fife  House, 

2ist  July,  1819. 

Sir, 

I  have  had  the  honour  of  receiving  your  Letter  together 
with  the  Inclosures  contained  in  it.  The  latter  I  return,  being 
fiilly  satisfied  of  the  honorable  Testimony  they  bear  to  your 
former  Services. 

With  respect  to  the  appointment  of  Commander  in  Chief  in 


F.-M.  SIR   GEORGE   NUGENT  285 

Ireland,  which  you  solicit,  it  has  always  been  filled  up  in  conse- 
quence of  Communications  between  the  first  Lord  of  the  Treasury, 
the  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Home  Department,  &  the  Lord 
Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  with  the  Commander  in  Chief; — being 
considered  an  appointment  not  purely  of  a  military  nature,  but 
connected  necessarily  with  Political  Duties,  which  rendered  the 
concurrence  of  the  Civil  Government  both  in  England  and  Ireland 
of  considerable  importance. 

I  cannot  under  any  circumstances,  say  more  than  that  if  the 
vacancy  to  which  you  allude  should  occur,  your  application  shall 
be  considered  together  with  those  of  others. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be.  Sir, 

Your  very  obedient  humble  Servant, 

Liverpool. 

General  Sir  George  Nugent,  Bt.,  G.C.B. 


Stable  Yard, 

March  4,  1811. 

Dear  Sir, 

I  have  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  obliging  Letter 
and  I  trust  it  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  assure  you  of  the  sincere 
satisfaction  with  which  I  learnt  the  Prince  Regent's  approval  of 
your  Nomination  to  the  Chief  Command  in  India,  when  I  feared 
that  General  Brownrigg  could  not  succeed  to  it. 

Aware  as  I  am  of  its  importance  at  all  times  and  particularly  at 
a  period  when  the  interests  of  the  Army  in  that  Quarter  seemed 
suffered  to  meet  from  various  unfortunate  causes  and  occurrences, 
I  could  not  but  feel  anxious  upon  every  ground  civil  and  military 
that  the  Direction  of  it  should  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  an  officer 
whose  able  and  zealous  exertions  had  been  manifested  upon  former 
occasions  and  whose  honourable  character  and  habit  of  Business 
should  inspire  confidence  to  the  Government,  while  they  promised 
to  afford  satisfaction  to  and  to  conciliate  those  placed  under  their 
direction.  I  am  confident  that  you  will  not  disappoint  their 
expectations  although  I  fear  that  you  will  have  to  surmount  many 
difficulties  and  embarrassments. 

I  am  very  sensible  of  the  friendly  manner  in  which  you  express 
your  feelings  in  regard  to  myself,  and  upon  this  subject  I  can  only 
say  that  the  Impression  which  had  been  left  on  my  mind  by  the 
Persecution  directed  against  me  has  not  been  a  little  softened  by 
the  gratifying  assurances   of  regard  and  continued  good  opinion 


286  BIOGRAPHICAL   MEMOIRS 

which   I   have  received  from    many  of   my  Brother    Soldiers    to 
whose  favourable  sentiments  I  must  ever  attach  the  greatest  value. 

Believe  me  ever, 
Dear  Sir, 

Yours  most  sincerely, 

Frederick. 
Lieut.-General  Sir  George  Nugent,  Bart. 


Stowe, 
May  iSth,  1812. 
My  dear  Lady  Nugent, 

The  ring  enclosed  in  this  note  belonged  to  one  whom  I 
am  sure  you  will  never  cease  to  regret.  Pray  wear  it  for  her  sake 
&  think  with  kindness  sometimes  on  your  very  faithful  Sc  affec- 
tionate 

Nugent  Buckingham. 

P.S.  I  rejoice  that  your  children  are  all  well  &  promising  all 
you  could  wish  &  while  Providence  spares  me  in  this  world  I  will 
not  lose  sight  of  them. 

L'an  1775,  le  18  Septembre  est  morte  a  Spa  la  Noble  Demoiselle 
de  Neugent,  irlandaise,  agee  de  19  ans. 

Elle  est  enterree  dans  le  Choeur  de  I'eglise  paroissielle  de  Spa,  a 
Cote  droit  en  entrant  Sous  le  pilier  pres  du  Maitre  autel,  par  per- 
mission de  I'archidiacre  du  Diocese  de  Liege. 

L'interrement  Se  fit  le  19  Septembre,  a  8  heures  du  Soir,  avec 
toutes  les  Ceremonies  possibles,  dix  pretres,  en  chapes  et  Surplis 
ont  accompagne  de  la  Defuncte  de  meme  que  18  flambeaux,  la 
bierre  etoit  portee  par  12  hommes  en  Manteaux  noirs,  3  Cerceuils 
renfermoient  la  defuncte :  deux  de  bois  Sc  un  autre  de  plomb,  une 
Couronne  de  fleurs,  entre  Ses  armes,  etoit  posee  Sur  la  bierre,  le  de 
profundis  &  le  libera  me  Suivi  du  Miserere  furent  chantes  a  I'en- 
terrement,  toute  la  Noblesse  presente,  les  orgues  accompagnoient 
le  chant  lugubre. 

Le  lendemain,  a  10  heures  du  matin,  on  fit  les  obseques,  tres 
Solonelles,  toute  la  Noblesse  y  assista,  le  Maitre-autel  etoit  Couvert 
en  Noir  garni  d'un  grand  luminaire  de  Cierges  blancs  &  de  Blaisons 
funebres. 

extrait  du  Registre  des  Morts. 

Une  Messe  Solenelle  fondee  a  perpetuite  Se  chante  tous  les  ans. 
avec  Diacre,  Sous-diacre,  chape  &  orgues. 


F.-M.  SIR   GEORGE   NUGENT  287 

Requiem  eternam  Dona  Ancillae  tuae,  Domine  et  lux  perpetua 
luceat  ci. 

Antonius  Jehia,  aedituus  ecclesiae  Spadae. 

9  Aout,  1822. 


London,  June  20th,  1827. 

My  dear  Sir  George, 

I  am  very  much  flattered  by  and  obliged  to  you  for  your 
kindness  in  sending  me  the  Bakerville  Bible  which  evidently 
belonged  to  my  family.  I  conclude  that  it  was  sold  with  Lord 
Wellesley's  Library.  I  accept  it  with  great  pleasure  and  shall 
preserve  it  as  a  token  of  your  kindness  towards  me. 

Ever,  my  dear  Sir  George, 

Yours  most  sincerely, 

Wellington. 


Daylesford  house, 
ijth  July,  1811, 

Sir, 

My  excellent  friend,  Mr.  Osborne,  has  informed  me  of 
the  promise  which  you  have  given  him  of  your  patronage  of  Mr. 
Chapmett,  the  nephew  of  Mrs.  Hastings.  For  this  intended  kind- 
ness, though  such  as  we  had  no  right  to  solicit,  we  share  largely  in 
the  obligation,  and  I  beg  leave  to  assure  you  of  it. 

I  think  myself  better  entitled  to  join  my  testimony  to  that 
of  my  friend,  to  the  merits  of  General  Palmer  ;  whom,  if  I  stood 
in  that  relation  of  acquaintance  with  you  which  would  justify  me 
in  introducing  him  to  your  notice,  I  should  not  do  it  on  the  foot- 
ing of  a  recommendation,  unless  for  that  of  reciprocal  benefit, 
believing  that  you  will  find  few  men  equal  to  him  in  official 
talents,  political  experience,  general  information,  or  integrity  of 
character. 

Mrs.  Hastings  unites  with  me  in  compliments  to  Lady  Nugent 
and  yourself,  and  in  fervent  wishes  for  your  health  and  prosperity. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be, 
Sir, 

Your  most  obedient 
humble  servant 

Warren  Hastings. 


288  BIOGRAPHICAL   MEMOIRS 

Horse  Guards, 

September  6,  1806. 
Sir, 

I  have  to  acknowledge  your  letter,  requesting  that  I  would 
recommend  you  to  His  Majesty's  Government  for  the  dignity  of  a 
Baronet,  and  I  have  to  assure  you  that  I  have  had  great  pleasure 
in  meeting  your  wishes  on  this  occasion,  and  have  not  failed  to 
express  to  Lord  Granville  the  high  sense  I  entertain  of  your 
merit  and  services,  and  my  wish  that  his  Lordship  would  take 
an  early  opportunity  of  recommending  you  to  His  Majesty  for 
the  mark  of  favor  you  have  solicited. 

I  am,  Sir, 


Yours, 

Frederick. 


LiEUTT.  General  Nugent, 
Stowe,  Bucks. 


Horse  Guards, 

22d  October,  1819. 
Sir, 

I  take  the  earliest  opportunity  in  my  power  to  acknowledge 
the  receipt  of  your  Letter  of  the  1 7th  instant,  and  to  acquaint  you 
that  The  Prince  Regent  has  been  pleased  to  confer  the  Government 
of  Plymouth  upon  The  Duke  of  Wellington  : — But  I  shall  be 
well  disposed  to  bring  your  claims,  with  those  of  other  General 
officers,  under  His  Royal  Highness's  consideration  as  future 
opportunities  offer. 

I  am. 
Sir, 
Yours, 

Frederick, 
Commander  in  Chief. 

General  Sir  George  Nugent,  G.C.B. 


Mivarfs  Hotel, 

Lower  Braak  St, 
Saturday. 
My  dear  George, 

I  received  your  letter  yesterday,  which  gave  me  very 
great  pleasure  ;  and  I  heartily  congratulate  you  on  the  approaching 
Marriage  of  your  Daughter  Louisa.  With  two  Thousand  pounds 
yearly  income  and  prudent  Management,  a  young  couple  may  live 


F.-M.   SIR   GEORGE   NUGENT  289 

very  comfortably.  I  do  not  think  that  those  are  the  happiest  who 
have  the  largest  Fortunes ;  they  are  too  often  tempted  to  enter 
into  scenes  of  dissipation  which  so  frequently  lead  ultimately  to 
much  misfortune,  and  as  far  as  my  experience  goes,  I  am  led  to 
think  that  more  true  happiness  is  found  amongst  the  middle  ranks 
of  life  whose  Incomes  are  moderate.  Your  Tour  must  have  been 
delightful,  the  Weather  having  been  something  like  Summer, 
which  we  can  scarcely  say  has  been  the  case  for  two  or  three 
years  past.     Remember  me  kindly. 

Ever,  my  dear  George,  your  affectionate  Brother, 

C.  E.  Nugent. 


u 


APPENDIX    II 

'THE   NAVAL   CHRONICLE,'   1803. 
(Vol.  X.,  pp.  442 — 468.) 

CHARLES   EDMUND   NUGENT,   ESQ. 

Our  officer  (Vice- Admiral  Nugent)  has  been  a  sailor  from 
his  earliest  youth.  He  was  born  about  the  year  1760  5  and  in 
1 771,  at  the  very  tender  age  of  eleven  years,  he  entered  the 
service  in  the  Scorpion  Sloop  of  War,  under  the  protection  of 
the  Hon.  George  Keith  Elphinstone,  now  Lord  Keith.  The 
Scorpion  shortly  afterwards  joined  Sir  Peter  Dennis's  flag-ship,  the 
Trident,  in  the  Mediterranean,  on  board  of  which  Mr.  Nugent 
went,  and  remained  in  her  till  the  year  1774. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  year  1775,  the  perturbed  state 
of  North  America  became  a  subject  of  very  serious  attention  on 
the  part  of  the  British  Government ;  and  in  the  month  of  April, 
the  rebellious  provinces  were  guilty  of  some  open  acts  of  hostility. 
Preparations,  offensive  as  well  as  defensive,  were  made  by  both 
parties  ;  several  actions  ensued  ;  and,  in  the  course  of  the  summer, 
the  ravages  of  war  extended  over  the  greater  part  of  the  western 
continent.  Towards  the  end  of  the  year,  Commodore  Sir  Peter 
Parker  sailed  from  Cork,  in  the  Bristol,  a  fifty-gun  ship,  with  a 
squadron  of  ships  of  war,  and  a  fleet  of  transports,  on  board  of 
which  were  a  large  body  of  troops,  under  the  command  of  Earl 
Cornwallis,  destined  to  act  against  the  rebels  in  North  America. 
Mr.  Nugent  sailed  in  the  Bristol,  as  Third  Lieutenant,  and,  in 
the  whole,  remained  under  the  command  of  Sir  Peter  Parker  the 
period  of  seven  years. 

Early  in  May  1776,  Sir  Peter  Parker's  squadron  arrived  off 
Cape  Fear  ;  and  being  joined  by  General  Clinton,  with  a  rein- 
forcement of  troops,  immediately  proceeded  to  the  attack  of 
Charlestown  in  South  Carolina. 

2qo 


CHARLES   EDMUND   NUGENT  291 

At  this  period  Mr.  Nugent  was  onlv  sixteen  years  old,  an 
age  at  which  very  few  young  men  destined  for  pubhc  stations 
have  quitted  their  academical  studies.  It  was  his  fortune,  however, 
to  enter  very  early  on  his  professional  pursuits,  and  in  his  vouthful 
years,  to  participate  in  much  service  under  the  command  of 
experienced  Officers. 

The  high  opinion  which  Sir  Peter  Parker  entertained  of 
Mr.  Nugent's  exertions  during  the  attack  upon  Sullivan's  Island, 
is  handsomelv  expressed  in  his  official  dispatches  to  the  Admiraltv 
on  that  occasion.  From  these  dispatches  we  take  the  liberty  of 
making  the  following  extract — 

"The  fleet  1  sailed  from  Cape  Fear  on  the  ist  of  June,  and 
on  the  4th  anchored  off  Charles-Town  bar.  The  5th,  sounded 
the  bar,  and  laid  down  buoys  preparatory  to  the  intended  entrance 
of  the  harbour.  The  7th,  all  the  frigates,  and  most  of  the 
transports,  got  over  the  bar  into  five  fathom  hole.  The  9th, 
General  Clinton  landed  on  Long  Island,  with  about  400  or  500 
men.  The  loth,  the  Bristol  got  over  the  bar  with  some  difficulty. 
The  15th,  gave  the  Captains  of  the  squadron  my  arrangement, 
for  the  attack  of  the  batteries  on  Sullivan's  Island,  and  the  next 
day  acquainted  General  Clinton  that  the  ships  were  ready.  The 
General  fixed  on  the  23rd  for  our  joint  attack,  but  the  wind 
proving  unfavourable,  prevented  its  taking  effect.  The  25th, 
the  Experiment  arrived,  and  next  day  came  over  the  bar,  when  a 
new  arrangement  was  made  for  the  new  attack.  The  28th, 
at  half  an  hour  after  nine  in  the  morning,  informed  General 
Clinton  by  signal,  that  I  should  go  on  the  attack.     At  half  an 

^  The  following  ships  composed  the  squadron  under  the  command 
of  Commodore  Sir  Peter  Parker,  at  the  attack  of  Sullivan's  Island, 
on  the  28th  July,  1776. 

Commanders. 
{  Commodore  Sir  Peter  Parker. 
[  Captain  J.  Morris. 

„       Scott. 
„       John  Symonds. 
„       Christopher  Atkins. 
„       William  Williams. 
,,       Furneaux. 
,,       Anthony  Hunt. 
„       Roger  Willis. 
„       Charles  Hope. 
„       James  Read. 
„       T.  Dring. 

{Vide  Schomberg.) 


Ships. 

Gun, 

Bristol 

50 

Experiment 
Solebay    ... 
Actaeon     ... 

50 
28 

28 

Active 

28 

Syren 

28 

Sphynx    ... 
Ranger  (A.  S.)    ... 
Friendship  (A.  S.) 
Thunder,  bomb  ... 

20 

22 

12 

8 

Carcass,  bomb     ... 

8 

292  BIOGRAPHICAL   MEMOIRS 

hour  after  ten,  I  made  the  signal  to  weigh  ;  and  about  a  quarter 
after  eleven,  the  Bristol,  Experiment,  Active,  and  Solebay,  brought 
up  against  the  Fort.     The  Thunder  bomb,  covered  by  the  Friend- 
ship armed  vessel,  brought  the  salient  angle  of  the  east  bastion  to 
bear  N.W.  by  N.,  and  Colonel  James  (who  has,  ever  since  our 
arrival,  been  very  anxious  to  give  the  best  assistance)  threw  several 
shells,  a  little  before,  and  during  the  engagement,  in  a  very  good 
direction.     The   Sphynx,  Actason,  and  Syren  were  to  have   been 
to    the    westward,    to    prevent    fire-ships    or    other    vessels    from 
annoying   the  ships  engaged,  to  enfilade  the  works,  and,  if   the 
rebels  should  be  driven    from    them,  to  cut  off  their  retreat,  if 
possible.       This    last   service  was  not    performed,  owing    to  the 
ignorance  of  the  pilot,  who  run  the  three  frigates  aground.     The 
Sphynx  and  Syren  got  off  in  a  few  hours,  but  the  Actaeon  remained 
fast  till  the  next  morning,  when  the  Captain  and  Officers  thought 
proper  to  scuttle  and  set  her  on  fire.     I  ordered  a  Court  Martial 
on    the   Captain,    Officers    and    Company,  and    they  have    been 
honourably  acquitted.       Captain  Hope  made    his  armed    ship  as 
useful  as  he  could  on  the  occasion,  and  he  merits  every  thing  that 
can  be  said  in  his  favour.     During  the  time  of  our  being  abreast 
of  the  fort,  which  was  near  ten  hours,  a  brisk  fire  was  kept  up  by 
the  ships,  with  intervals ;  and  we  had  the  satisfaction,  after  being 
engaged  two  hours,  to  oblige  the  rebels  to  slacken  their  fire  very 
much.      We   drove   large   parties  several  times  out  of  the   fort, 
which  were  replaced  by  others  from  the  main.     About  half  an 
hour    after    three,    a    considerable    reinforcement    from     Mount 
Pleasant  hung  a  man  on  a  tree  at  the  back  of  the  fort,  and  we 
imagine  that  the  same  party  ran  away  about  an  hour  after,  for 
the  fort  was  totally  silenced,  and  evacuated  for  near  an  hour  and 
a   half;    but  the  rebels    finding  that  our  army   could    not    take 
possession,  about    six  o'clock  a  considerable    body  of   people  re- 
entered the  fort,  and  renewed  the  firing  from  two  or  three  guns ; 
the  rest  being,  I  suppose,  dismounted.       About  nine  o'clock,  it 
being  very  dark,  great    part    of  our  ammunition  expended,  the 
people  fatigued,  the  tide  of  ebb  almost  done,  no  prospect  from 
the    eastward,  and    no    possibility  of  our    being    of  any  further 
service,  I  ordered  the  ships  to  withdraw  to  their  former  moorings. 
Their    Lordships  will    see    plainly  by  this  account,  that    if   the 
troops  could  have  co-operated  on  this  attack,  his  Majesty  would 
have  been  in  possession   of  Sullivan's   Island.      But   I   must   beg 
here  to   be   fuUv  understood,  lest  it  should  be  imagined  that  I 
mean  to  throw  the  most  distant  reflection  on  our  army  :   I  should 
not  discharge  my  conscience,  were  I  not   to  acknowledge,  that 
such  was  my  opinion  of  his  Majesty's  troops,  from  the  General 


CHARLES   EDMUND    NUGENT  293 

down  to  the  private  Soldier,  that  after  I  had  been  engaged  some 
hours,  and  perceived  that  the  troops  had  not  got  a  footing  on  the 
north  end  of  Sullivan's  Island,  I  was  perfectly  satisfied  that  the 
landing  was  impracticable,  and  that  the  attempt  would  have  been 
the  destruction  of  many  brave  men,  without  the  least  probability 
of  success  ;  and  this,    I  am  certain,  will  appear  to  be  the  case, 
when  General  Clinton  represents  his  situation.     The  Bristol  had 
40  men    killed,   and   71   wounded;     the    Experiment,  23  killed, 
and  56  wounded,  and  both  of  them  suffered  much  in  their  hulls, 
masts,  and  rigging ;  the  Active  had  Lieutenant  Pike  killed,  and 
six  men  wounded  ;  and  the  Solebay  eight  men  wounded.     Not 
one  man  who  was  quartered  at  the  beginning  of  the  action  on  the 
Bristol's  quarter-deck,  escaped  being  killed  or  wounded.     Captain 
Morris  lost  his  right  arm,  and  received  other  wounds,  and  is  since 
dead  ;  the  Master  is  wounded  in  his  right  arm,  but  will  recover 
the  use  of  it.      I  received  several  contusions  at  different  times, 
but  as  none  of  them  are  on  any  part  where  the  least  danger  can 
be  apprehended,  they  are  not  worth  mentioning.       Lieutenants 
Caulfield,  Molloy,    and    Nugent,  were    the    Lieutenants    of  the 
Bristol  in  the  action  ;  thev  behaved  so  remarkablv  well,  that  it  is 
impossible  to  say  to  whom  the  preference  is  due  ;  and  so  indeed 
I  may  say  of  all  the  pettv  officers,  ship's  companv,  and  volunteers. 
At  the  head  of  the  latter  I  must  place  Lord  William  Campbell, 
who  was  so  condescending  as  to  accept  of  the  direction  of  some 
guns  on  the  lower  gun-deck.     His  Lordship  received  a  contusion 
on  the  left  side,  but  I   have  the  happiness  to  inform  their  Lord- 
ships  that  it   has   not   proved   of   much    consequence.       Captain 
Scott,  of  the  Experiment,  lost  his  left  arm,  and   is  otherwise  so 
much  wounded,  that  I  fear  he  will  not  recover.     I  cannot  con- 
clude this  letter  without  remarking;,  that  when  it  was  known  that 
we  had  many  men  too  weak  to  come  to  quarters,  almost  all  the 
seamen  belonging  to  the  transports  offered  their  services  with  a 
truly  British  spirit,  and  a  just  sense  of  the  cause  we  are  engaged 
in.     I  accepted  of  upwards  of  50  to  supply  the  place  of  our  sick. 
The  Masters  of  many  of  the  transports  attended  with  their  boats  ; 
but   particular  thanks  are   certainly  due   to   Mr.   Chambers,  the 
Master  of  the  Mercury." 

After  this  action,  a  promotion  of  the  officers  taking  place, 
Mr.  Nugent  was  made  Second  Lieutenant  of  the  Bristol.  Sub- 
sequently to  the  affair  at  Sullivan's  Island,  Sir  Peter  Parker 
repassed  the  bar,  and  sailed  to  New  York,  for  the  purpose  of 
joining  Lord  Howe. 

To  facilitate  the  reduction  of  New  York,  a  number  of  flat- 
boats,    galleys,    and    batteaux    were    employed,   from    which    the 


294  BIOGRAPHICAL   MEMOIRS 

troops  under  the  command  of  General  Howe,  Clinton,  and  Lord 
Cornwallis,  effected  a  landing  ;  the  ultimate  result  of  which  was, 
that  the  Americans  were  expelled  from  the  town.  In  this  service, 
Mr.  Nugent  was  very  actively  engaged. 

In  December,  Commodore  Sir  Peter  Parker  having  shifted  his 
flag  to  the  Chatham,  of  fifty  guns,  proceeded  with  his  squadron, 
accompanied  by  General  Clinton  and  a  body  of  land  forces,  to 
reduce  Rhode  Island,  which  was  taken  possession  of  without  the 
loss  of  a  man. 

In  April  1777,  Letters  of  Marque  and  Reprisal  were  granted 
against  the  Thirteen  United  Provinces  of  America  ;  and,  in  the 
May  following,  Sir  Peter  Parker  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
Rear-Admiral. — Mr.  Nugent,  as  we  have  before  stated,  continued 
with  Sir  Peter  Parker,  who  remained  at  Rhode  Island  with  his 
squadron,  until  his  appointment  to  Jamaica,  where  he  arrived  on 
the  3rd  of  March,  1778.  Mr.  Nugent  was  here  made  Master 
and  Commander  ;  and  soon  after  was  appointed  Post  Captain  to 
the  Pomona,  of  twenty-eight  guns. 

In  the  autumn  of  1779,  Sir  Peter  Parker,  who  had  attained 
the  rank  of  Vice-Admiral,  and  now  commanded  his  Majesty's 
ships  on  the  Jamaica  station,  was  informed  that  the  Spaniards  had 
landed  at  St.  George's  Quay,  which  place  they  had  plundered, 
treating  the  inhabitants  with  great  cruelty  ;  and  that  the  bay  men, 
on  the  Musquito  and  the  bay  of  Honduras  shores,  were  in  great 
danger  of  an  attack  from  them.  To  protect  the  settlement.  Sir 
Peter  dispatched  the  Porcupine  sloop  of  war,  commanded  by 
Captain  Pakenham,  to  co-operate  with  a  detachment  of  troops 
sent  by  the  Governor  of  Jamaica,  under  the  command  of  Captain 
Dalrymple.  About  the  same  time,  the  Admiral  also  dispatched 
Commodore,  the  Hon.  John  Luttrell,  with  a  small  squadron,^  of 
which  the  Pomona,  Captain  Nugent's  ship,  formed  a  part,  for  the 
purpose  of  intercepting  some  register  ships,  in  the  Gulf  of  Dulce, 
and  which  were  afterwards  taken  in  the  capture  of  Omoa. 

In  this  expedition.  Captain  Nugent  was  sent  by  Commodore 
Luttrell  to  procure  pilots  in  the  bay  of  Honduras,  at  St.  George's 
Quay,  with  orders  to  leave  the  Pomona  at  anchor,  at  Quay 
Boquel,  and  to  proceed  in  the  Racehorse  schooner.  On  anchoring 
as  directed.  Captain  Nugent  perceived  a  brig  of  fourteen  guns  at 
anchor,  with  English  colours  flying.  He  immediately  put  off  in 
his  barge,  to  proceed  to  the  Quay,  when,  it  being  now  dark,  the 

'^  The  Charon,  of  44  guns,  Commodore  Luttrell ;  Lowestoffe,  28, 
Captain  Parker;  Pomona,  28,  Captain  Nugent;  and  Racehorse,  10, 
Lieutenant  Trott. 


CHARLES   EDMUND   NUGENT  295 

barge  was  surrounded  by  a  number  of  Spanish  launches,  and  a 
schooner  of  eight  guns,  that  had  been  concealed  under  the  lee  of 
the  brig,  which  it  now  appeared  had  been  taken  and  was  aground. 
Having  secured  the  barge,  in  which  was  Captain  Nugent,  the 
launches  proceeded  to  board  the  Racehorse  ;  which  however,  having 
been  alarmed  by  the  firing  at  the  barge,  gave  them  so  warm  a 
reception,  that  four  of  them  were  sunk,  and  the  remainder,  with  the 
eiaht-sun  schooner,  obliged  to  sheer  off  with  2:reat  slau2:hter.  Lieu- 
tenant  Trott  then  returned  to  Quav  Boquel,  to  alarm  the  Pomona. 
In  the  mean  time.  Captain  Nugent,  with  his  barge's  crew,  was 
put  into  confinement,  with  a  guard  placed  over  him.  After  having 
been  stripped  to  his  shirt,  and  subjected  to  every  indignitv,  he  was 
taken  on  shore,  where  there  was  a  platform,  with  a  guard  before 
it ;  and  it  subsequently  appeared,  that  the  Governor  of  Bacular, 
a  town  of  the  pro\'ince  of  Yucatan,  who  headed  the  expedition 
against  the  logwood  cutters  at  the  town  of  Quay  Casine,  had  given 
orders  to  execute  all  who  made  resistance.  From  this  fate, 
Captain  Nugent  with  difficulty  escaped,  by  explaining,  that 
he  was  a  Captain  of  a  British  frigate.  Of  this  they  were  convinced, 
by  taking  from  his  coat,  of  which  he  had  been  stripped,  some 
orders  from  Commodore  Luttrel.  Captain  Nugent  was  then  hand- 
cuffed and  blindfolded,  and  conveved  in  a  canoe  alongside  the  eight- 
gun  schooner,  on  board  of  which  was  the  Commander  of  the 
expedition.  He  was  then  examined  by  some  person  who  spoke 
English  ;  and,  the  Commander  being  satisfied,  he  was  re-conducted 
on  shore,  and  confined  with  the  rest  of  the  crew,  and  the  Purser 
of  the  Pomona,  who  had  accompanied  him.  There  was  a  great 
number  of  wounded  men,  both  in  the  schooner  and  in  the  boats,  as 
Captain  Nugent  distinctly  heard  their  cries  when  alongside  of 
the  former.  Of  this,  too,  he  was  afterwards  assured  by  the 
inhabitants  of  the  town.  Li  the  morning,  soon  after  sun-rise,  he 
was  told  by  one  of  the  townspeople,  that  the  Spaniards  were 
retiring  in  great  consternation  ;  on  which  Captain  Nugent,  with 
his  barge's  crew,  then  broke  out  of  prison.  They  found  a  number 
of  the  inhabitants  collected  together,  many  of  them  armed,  and  the 
Spanish  launches  making  the  best  of  their  way  from  the  island. 
In  such  haste  were  they  to  get  off,  that  they  suffered  several  of 
their  men  to  be  taken  prisoners,  although  one  or  two  of  their  boats 
were  just  putting  off  from  the  shore,  and  the  Pomona,  which  was 
coming  from  Quay  Boquel,  was  at  least  three  leagues  off. 

Captain  Nugent  then  launched  the  barge,  which  had  been  left 
half  full  of  water,  and  retook  the  brig,  which  was  on  shore  with 
two  or  three  men  on  board  at  the  entrance  of  the  harbour. 
Captain    Nugent  got  on    board  of  the  Pomona  just  as  she  was 


296  BIOGRAPHICAL   MEMOIRS 

coming  to  an  anchor.  He  was  obliged  to  return  as  soon  as  possible 
to  Glover's  Reef,  the  rendezvous  appointed  by  Commodore 
Luttrell,  v^^ith  the  pilots  w^hich  he  had  been  directed  to  obtain  ; 
but,  before  he  went,  he  fitted  out  the  fourteen-gun  brig  found  at 
the  Ouav,  and  left  a  Mate  and  ten  men  in  her,  with  arms  and 
ammunition  for  several  more,  that  she  might  be  completed  in  her 
crew  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  town,  for  whose  protection  she  was 
left,  in  case  of  the  return  of  the  Spaniards.  By  this  means,  most 
of  the  negroes,  from  the  settlements  up  the  rivers  Belez,  Sherboon, 
and  the  New  River,  and  as  much  of  the  property  of  the  inhabitants 
as  could  be  collected  together,  were  embarked  in  the  different 
craft  in  the  Settlement,  and  transported  to  the  Island  of  Rattan, 
where  they  settled  during  the  continuance  of  the  war.  Three 
hundred  of  these  Bay  men  were  assembled  at  that  island,  and  served 
at  the  capture  of  Omoa,  where  they  rendered  essential  service, 
both  during  the  siege  and  at  the  storm. 

In  order  that  the  whole  of  this  interesting  business  may  be  more 
completely  understood,  we  present  the  following  official  dispatches 
respecting  it : — 

Whitehall,  Dec.  18,  1779. 

^^  Extract  of  a  Letter  from  Captain  Dalrymple,  Commander  of 
the  Loyal  Irish    Volunteers,  to  the  Right  Honoiirahle  Lord 
George  Germaine,  One  of  his  Majesty's  Principal  Secretaries 
of  State,  received  Yesterday  hj  Lieut.   Garden,  of  the  Goth 
Res'iment. 

^'  St.  Fernando  de  Omoa,  Oct.  21,  1779. 

"  Your  Lordship  would  be  informed,  that  General  Bailing  had 
dispatched  me  to  the  Musquitto  shore  to  collect  a  force,  and  that 
he  had  also  sent  arms,  artillery,  and  ammunition,  for  St.  George's 
Quay,  being  the  principal  settlement  of  the  Bay  men. 

"  On   the   27th   of  September,   the  day  of  our  arrival  at  Black 
River,  on  the  Musquitto  shore,  an  advice-boat  came  up  from  the 
Bay,  with  certain  intelligence,  that  the  Spaniards  had,  on  the  15th 
of  September,  taken   possession  of  St.   George's  Quay,  having  a 
number  of  armed  petitaguas,  and  about  600  men.     On  this  notice, 
having  collected  sixty  Indians,  and  enlisted  some  volunteers  on  the 
shore,  we  sailed  in  the  Porcupine  sloop  of  war  with  three  transports, 
or  the  relief  and  re-establishment  of  the  Bay  men.     On  the  even- 
fing  of  our  departure  from  Black  River,  we  fell  in  with   Com- 
modore Luttrell,  in  the  Charon,  accompanied  by  the  LowestofFe 
and  Pomona  frigates,  when  we  were  informed  that  St.  George's 


CHARLES   EDMUND   NUGENT  297 

Quay  had  been  retaken  bv  his  Majesty's  armed  schooner  Racehorse^ 
and  that  the  remaining  inhabitants,  with  their  slaves,  had  retired  to 
Truxillo  and  Rattan.  I  intended  to  have  consulted  the  Bav  men 
on  resettling  Honduras,  when  I  was  informed  that  his  Majesty's 
ships  had  been  at  the  Gulph  of  Dulce,  and  not  finding  the  register- 
ships  there,  had  proceeded  to  St.  Fernando  de  Omoa,  where  they 
discovered  them  :  that  they  had  entered  the  Bay,  where  some 
shot  were  exchanged  between  them  and  the  fort ;  but  not  havins; 
a  sufficient  land-force  to  attack  on  shore,  they  were  obliged  to 
leave  it.  Judging  this  a  happy  opportunity  of  adding  lustre  to  his 
Majesty's  arms,  I  waited  upon  Commodore  Luttrell,  and  offered 
to  attack  on  the  land  side  with  the  Indians  and  the  detachment 
of  the  Loyal  Irish,  if  he  would  reinforce  me  with  the  marines  and 
musketry-men  from  the  ships.  The  Commodore  agreeing  in 
opinion  that  the  fort  might  be  taken  by  attacking  by  sea  and  land 
at  the  same  time,  it  was  accordin2;ly  determined  on,  and  Truxillo 
was  appointed  as  the  rendez\'ous  to  collect  the  Bay  men,  with 
their  slaves  ;  where  we  met  some  people  from  the  Musquitto  shore, 
who  had  been  on  an  expedition  against  the  register-ships.  The 
Commodore  immediateh'  had  the  Bay  men  collected,  as  I  suggested 
it,  who  were  dispersed  about  the  islands  of  Rattan  and  Bonaccoa  ; 
they  were  formed  by  me  into  four  companies,  being  invested  with 
powers  by  General  Dalling  for  that  purpose  :  the  slaves  I  officered 
by  their  proprietors.  With  this  reinforcement  of  250  men,  added 
to  the  Loyal  Irish,  marine  musketry-men  from  the  ships,  and 
Indians,  our  force  amounted  to  upwards  of  500  men.  The 
Commodore  having  got  in  readiness,  at  my  request,  scaling-ladders, 
issued  out  200  stand  of  arms,  exclusive  of  seventy  stand  issued  by 
me  of  the  regimental  arms,  and  150  sent  down  by  General  Dalling, 
which  were  intended  for  the  Bay.  We  sailed  from  the  Bay  of 
Truxillo  on  the  lOth  instant,  and  landed  on  the  i6th  about  eight 
o'clock  at  night,  at  Porto  Cavallo.  We  were  informed  by  our 
guides,  that  Port  Omoa  was  only  three  leagues  distant,  and 
our  intention  was  to  have  marched  directly  on,  in  the  night,  to 
surprise  and  escalade  the  fort  ;  but  the  distance  proving  greater  than 
was  imagined,  and  the  roads  very  bad  which  they  passed,  such  as  I 
may  venture  to  affirm  no  European  troops  ever  marched  before  in 
this  climate,  being  at  times  obliged  to  walk  (on  account  of  impene- 
trable mangroves),  out  into  the  sea,  which  damaged  their 
cartouches  ;  and  at  other  times  through  lagoons,  morasses,  and 
narrow  footpaths,  over  mountains  rendered  almost  impassable  from 
the  late  rains,  having  precipices  on  each  side,  and  forced  to  grope 
our  way  by  lights  made  from  cabbage-trees.  We  were  not  arrived 
within  two  leagues  of  the  fort  at  day  break,  having  lost  our  rear. 


298  BIOGRAPHICAL   MEMOIRS 

some  lying  down  through  fatigue,  and  others  losing  the  line  of 
march,  from  the  darkness  of  the  night,  and  the  difficulty  of  keep- 
ing up  in  paths  only  passable  by  Indians.  In  the  morning  the  rear 
line  was  brought  up  by  Captain  Cardan,  of  the  60th  regiment  of  foot ; 
and  having  refreshed  the  troops  for  two  hours,  we  proceeded  again 
through  passes  and  defiles,  the  same  as  in  the  night  before,  the 
Indians  skirmishing  along  the  paths.  We  had  taken  two  look- 
outs, from  which  some  of  the  soldiers  escaped,  and  carried 
intelligence  that  an  enemy  was  advancing  ;  and  as  they  had  seen 
our  squadron  the  night  before,  and  the  Musquitto  crafts,  imagined 
that  Indians  (only),  landed  from  them,  were  the  enemy  on  shore, 
not  thinking  that  Europeans  would  undertake  such  a  march  ;  and 
in  order  to  favour  this  deception,  the  Indians  were  advanced  in 
front,  and  dislodged  them  from  their  look-outs,  which  prevented 
them  from  occupying  the  defiles  and  passes,  until  we  arrived  near 
the  town,  where  they  had  placed  an  ambuscade.  The  Indians, 
who  are  extremely  sharp  as  scouts,  perceived  them  :  they  represented 
that  the  Spaniards  were  drawn  up  in  force.  A  disposition  of 
attack  was  immediately  framed  for  the  Loyal  Irish  and  marines  to 
force  the  pass  in  front  in  column,  and  to  advance  rapidly  with  the 
grenadiers  march,  supported  by  the  second  line  drawn  up  :  and 
the  Pomona's  musketry-men,  of  the  first  line,  were  detached  to 
gain  a  hill  on  the  left,  covered  with  woods,  which  commanded  the 
pass.  These  orders  being  instantly  executed,  the  defile  was  forced. 
We  received  a  scattering  ill-directed  fire  from  fifty  or  sixty 
Spaniards,  which  killed  one  soldier  only  of  the  Loyal  Irish,  and 
wounded  a  marine  ;  and  so  great  was  their  panic,  that  they  fled 
on  all  quarters  to  the  fort,  woods,  and  town,  evacuating  the 
Governor's  house,  built  with  battlements,  and  terassed  on  the  top  ; 
a  post  which,  if  defended  by  twenty  British  regulars,  would  have 
stopped  our  whole  force.  The  gaining  this  hill,  and  that  which 
the  Pomona's  men  had  ascended,  gave  the  entire  view  of  the  fort, 
commanding  it  and  the  town  in  the  bottom,  the  fort  distant  half  a 
mile,  and  the  town  close  under  the  hill.  The  skirmishing  con- 
tinued from  the  town,  and  galled  us  a  little.  Being  unwilling  to 
set  fire  to  it,  I  desisted  upwards  of  an  hour  ;  but  finding  that  I 
could  not  permit  an  enemy  on  my  flank,  the  town  forming  a 
crescent  under  the  hill,  orders  were  given  for  its  being  consumed, 
which  were  carried  into  execution,  the  inhabitants  flying  to  the 
fort  and  the  woods.  The  property  consumed  in  the  town  was 
estimated  at  100,000  piastres.  The  squadron  came  into  the  Bay 
while  the  town  was  in  flames,  and  supposing  it  a  proper  time  to 
batter  the  fort,  went  in  abreast  of  it.  A  diversion  was  made  by 
the  land  forces  in  their  favour  from  the  hill.     The  scaling-ladders 


CHARLES   EDMUND   NUGENT  299 

were  carried  by  the  Honduras  fusileers  ;  but  their  eagerness  to  engage 
in  skirmishing  made  them  drop  the  ladders,  and  hasten  to  get  up 
to  the  head  of  the  column,  which  prevented  the  land-forces  from 
co-operating  with  the  squadron  (by  storming),  so  heartily  that  day 
as  could  have  been  wished.  The  Lowestoffe  having  got  aground, 
and  the  other  ships,  as  I  imagined,  observing  the  signal  was  dis- 
played that  the  land  forces  could  not  co-operate,  desisted  firing. 
The  Lowestoffe  was  much  wounded,  but  got  off. 

"  The  day  following  we  passed  in  skirmishing,  in  securing  the 
roads  round  the  fort,  and  driving  in  cattle  for  the  land  forces.  On 
the  1 8th,  the  squadron  landed  some  guns  to  the  westward  :  two 
four-pounders  were  got  up  that  night,  and  a  battery  was  imme- 
diately opened  on  them. 

"  The  battery  incommoded  them  much,  but  never  could  have 
made  any  impression  on  the  walls  of  the  parapet,  as  they  were 
eighteen  feet  thick. 

"  The  Spaniards  pointed  that  evening  three  guns  more  towards 
the  land  side,  and  in  the  morning  dismounted  one  of  our's.  Observ- 
ing there  were  some  houses  near  the  fort  which  the  Spaniards  had 
neglected  to  burn,  parties  of  marines.  Bay  men,  and  Indians, 
occupied  them,  and  kept  up  so  incessant  a  fire  on  the  embrazures 
of  the  fort,  that  the  Spaniards'  fire  from  the  guns  was  often 
silenced  for  hours,  and  we  observed  them  throwing  over  the  dead. 
This  day  six  guns  more  were  got  up  by  the  seamen  and  Bay  men, 
one  of  which  General  Dalling  had  sent  for  the  Bay  men,  three 
others  being  swamped  coming  on  shore.  Captain  Cardan  opened 
a  battery  of  four  six-pounders,  from  the  hill  which  the  Pomona's 
men  had  gained  in  the  first  skirmish  at  the  defile  which  also  com- 
manded the  fort. 

"  Foreseeing  that  by  a  seige  of  this  nature,  before  approaches 
could  be  made  in  a  regular  way,  and  a  breach  effected,  a  vast 
train  of  artillery  would  be  required,  and  a  length  of  time,  after 
which  we  would  be  obliged  to  storm,  having  also  the  enemy  in 
our  rear  all  round,  and  having  maturely  weighed  all  these  circum- 
stances, and  the  disadvantage  inevitably  attending  a  siege,  it  was 
therefore  determined  to  escalade  the  fort,  as  the  ditch  was  found  to 
be  dry  ;  and  having  consulted  with  the  Commodore  on  the  mode 
of  attack,  it  was  resolved  that  the  Pomona  should  be  towed  close 
in,  the  heavier  ships  co-operating.  The  attack  being  determined 
on,  the  Europeans  were  formed  in  four  columns  in  line  ;  four  men 
advanced  with  guides  at  the  head  of  each  column  ;  in  each  column 
followed  eight  men,  carrying  the  ladders,  who  were  followed  by  a 
few  hand-grenade  men.  Two  columns  consisted  of  seamen,  and 
two  of  marines,  with  a  few  Loyal  Irish.     At  three  in  the  morning 


300  BIOGRAPHICAL   MEMOIRS 

the  disposition  being  made,  and  our  force  consisting  of  150,  we 
moved  down  the  hill,  and  lay  there  waiting  for  the  signal  of  the 
Charon,  which  was  to  denote  she  had  got  under  weigh,  and 
would  attack  in  twenty  minutes.  The  signal  being  made  a  little 
after  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  20th,  we  advanced  under 
fire  of  our  own  batteries,  and  were  encouraged  by  observing  that 
the  Spaniards  did  not  perceive  our  march,  by  the  direction  of  their 
shot  over  us,  pointed  at  our  batteries  on  the  hills. 

"  The  Pomona,  and  fleet  also,  attracted  their  notice  by  the 
fire  from  the  sea-side.  By  this  fortunate  co-operation  in  profound 
silence,  arms  trailed,  and  in  order  to  animate  the  troops,  the 
parole  was  changed  to  Bayonette^  and  the  countersign  Britons^  strike 
home.  We  advanced  undiscovered  under  the  Spanish  sentries, 
who  were  every  two  or  three  minutes  passing  the  word  alerto. 
At  the  entrance  into  the  ditch  were  two  guns,  pointed  from  the 
flank  of  the  bastion  to  scour  it.  We  were  perceived  by  their 
sentries,  and  their  drum  beat  to  the  alarm-posts.  Our  columns 
were  staggered,  and  stept  back  ;  but  instantly  recovering  them- 
selves, they  advanced  to  the  wall,  in  height  twenty-eight  feet,  on 
which  was  a  battery  of  five  guns.  They  reared  one  ladder,  a 
second,  and  a  third.  The  first  ladder  was  broke  by  the  flank  guns 
of  another  bastion,  killing  a  midshipman,  and  badly  wounding  five 
men  ;  the  other  two  ladders  were  also  wounded,  but  not  broken. 
Two  seamen  got  up  first  bv  one  ladder,  and  obeyed  their  orders 
in  not  firing  j  they  presented  at  sixty  Spaniards  drawn  up,  but 
retained  their  fire  until  others  ascended  ;  and  so  great  was  the 
consternation  of  the  enemy,  that  it  seemed  as  if  they  had  lost  the 
power  of  their  arms,  although  their  officers  were  at  their  head 
encouraging  them. 

"  The  seamen  scrambling  up  the  ladders,  down  off'  the  parapets 
they  went,  and  being  reinforced  bv  marines  and  seamen,  the 
Spaniards  fled  to  the  casements,  but  thev  could  not  recover  their 
panic,  notwithstanding  every  exertion  of  their  officers.  About 
100  Spaniards  escaped  over  the  walls  on  the  opposite  side,  and  out 
of  a  sally-port.  The  Governor  and  principal  Officers  then  came 
and  delivered  up  to  me  their  swords,  the  garrison,  and  register-ships, 
with  the  kevs  of  the  fort,  and  saved  their  lives.  Inclosed  is  a  list 
of  the  Spanish  Officers,  with  the  troop  of  the  garrison,  also  a  list 
of  our  killed  and  wounded,  which  is  very  inconsiderable.  We 
found  eleven  Spaniards  wounded,  some  of  which  are  since  dead. 
They  will  not  acknowledge  the  number  they  have  lost,  but  it  is 
thought  it  exceeds  thirty. 

"  As  to  the  behaviour  of  the  officers  and  men  under  my  com- 
mand,  the   British   displayed   that  bravery  which  is  their  known 


CHARLES   EDMUND    NUGENT  301 

characteristic.  The  Bav  men  and  Indians  were  also  of  the 
utmost  service  in  all  duties  of  fatigue,  in  skirmishing  and  dragging 
up  the  cannon. 

"  Your  Lordship  will  pardon  my  mentioning  an  instance  of  an 
elevated  mind  in  a  British  tar,  which  amazed  the  Spaniards,  and 
gave  them  a  very  high  idea  of  English  valour.  Not  contented 
with  one  cutlass,  he  had  scrambled  up  the  walls  with  two,  and 
meeting  a  Spanish  Officer  without  arms,  who  had  been  roused  out 
of  his  sleep,  had  the  generositv  not  to  take  any  advantage,  but 
presented  him  one  of  his  cutlasses,  and  told  him,  '  You  are  now  on 
a  footing  with  me.'  ^  The  orders  were  not  to  spare  while  they 
resisted,  but  to  grant  quarter  to  all  who  requested  it.  Only  two 
Spaniards  were  wounded  bv  the  bayonet  by  resisting,  nor  was  any 
person  pillaged  or  plundered. 

"  I  have  the  pleasure  to  inform  your  Lordship,  that  the  greatest 
harmonv  subsisted  between  the  sea  and  land  forces  durino;  the 
whole  of  this  expedition  ;  and  that  Commodore  Luttrell,  and  the 
Captains  of  the  Navv,  have  on  every  occasion  made  the  greatest 
exertions  to  forward  the  service  on  shore  ;  and  all  underwent  the 
most  severe  fatigue,  in  this  hot  climate,  with  uncommon  alacrity. 

"  Of  this  fortification  vour  Lordship  will  judge  of  the  import- 
ance, from  the  incredible  expense  the  Crown  of  Spain  has  been 
at  in  erecting  it,  as  the  stone  of  which  it  is  built  is  raised  out  of 
the  sea,  and  brought  twenty  leagues. 

"  The  outworks  are  not  finished  notwithstanding  they  have 
employed  constantly  lOOO  men  at  work  for  twenty  vears.  It  is 
the  key  to  the  Bay  of  Honduras,  and  where  the  register-ships  and 
treasure  are  sent  from  Guatimala  in  time  of  war.  The  morn- 
ing of  our  arrival  the  treasure  was  conveyed  into  the  country,  so 
that  what  we  have  found  in  the  military  chest,  and  what  belonged 
to  the  public,  does  not  exceed  8000  piastres  ;  but  the  register- 
ships  must  be  very  valuable,  if  they  arrive  in  safety  in  Englan-d. 

"  I  send  these  dispatches,  with  the  colours  of  Omoa,  and  also 

^  The  astonishment  of  the  officer  at  such  an  act  of  generosity,  and 
the  facility  with  which  a  friendly  parley  took  place,  when  he  expected 
nothing  else  but  (from  the  hostile  appearance  of  his  foe)  to  be  cut  to 
pieces,  could  only  be  rivalled  by  the  admiration  which  his  relating  the 
story  excited  in  his  countrymen.  From  this  circumstance  being  men- 
tioned to  Sir  Peter  Parker,  at  the  return  of  the  squadron,  he  appointed 
this  intrepid  fellow  to  be  Boatswain  of  a  sloop  of  war.  A  few  years 
after,  either  in  a  fit  of  madness  or  intoxication,  he  forgot  his  situation, 
:and  struck  the  Lieutenant  of  the  Ferret  sloop  of  war,  for  which  he 
was  tried  by  a  Court  Martial,  condemned  to  suffier  death,  and  executed. 
— Vide  Schomberg's  Chronology,  vol.  i.  p.  476. 


302  BIOGRAPHICAL   MEMOIRS 

plans  of  the  fortification,  by  Lieutenant  Cardan,  of  the  6oth 
regiment,  whom  I  appointed  to  act  as  Captain  of  Artillery,  and 
Engineer  to  this  expedition,  and  humbly  beg  he  may  be  per- 
mitted to  lay  them  at  his  Majesty's  feet. 

"  Return  of  killed  and  wounded  acting  on  Shore  at  the  Siege 
and  Attack  of  Fort  St.  Fernando  de  Ovioa,  October  20,  1779. 

"One  Midshipman,  three  seamen,  killed ;  seven  seamen  wounded. 
"  One  Subaltern,  and  four  marines,  wounded. 
"  Loyal  Irish. — One  private  killed. 
^^  Bay  Fusileers. — One  private  wounded. 
^^  Musquitto  Indians. — One  killed,  one  wounded. 
"  Total. — One  midshipman,  five  men,  killed  ;    one  Subaltern, 
thirteen  men,  wounded. 

^^  Karnes  of  Officers  killed  and  wounded. 

"Mr.  Lloyd,  Midshipman  of  the  LowestofFe,  killed.  Second 
Lieutenant  Wightman,  of  the  Chatham  division  of  marines, 
wounded. 

^''{signed)     W.  Dalrymple, 
"  Commander  in  Chief  of  the  Land  Forces.''' 

The  following  extract,  which  particularly  relates  to  Captain 
Nugent,  will  be  perused  with  much  interest : — 

"Admiralty  Office,  December  18,  1779. 

"  Captain  Pakenham  arrived  at  this  office  yesterday  Afternoon^  zvith 
a  Letter  from  the  Honourable  fohn  Luttrell^  Captain  of  his  Majesty^ 
Ship  the  Charon^  to  Mr.  Stevens^  dated  at  Omoa^  the  2'jth  of  October y 
1779,  of  which  the  following  is  an  Extract : — 

"  Charon,  in  the  Harbour  of  Omga, 
October  2ltk,  1779. 
«  Sir, 

"  I  am  to  request  you  will  be  pleased  to  acquaint  their 
Lordships,  that,  in  obedience  to  orders  I  received  from  Sir  Peter 
Parker,  I  sailed  from  Port  Royal  early  in  the  morning  of  the  8th 
of  September  last,  and  being  joined  in  a  ftw  hours  after  by  the 
Pomona,  LowestofFe,  and  Racehorse  schooner,  bore  away  for  the 
Spanish  main  ;  which,  however,  I  was  not  able  to  reach,  owing  to 
calms  and  baffling  winds,  until  the  15th.     The  next  day  we  got 


CHARLES    EDMUND    NUGENT  303 

to  Rattan  ;  and  being  apprehensive  that  the  enemy's  register-ships 
might  pass  to  windward,  and   along  their  own   shore,  in  case  I 
carried  all  the  squadron  towards  George's  Quay,  I  ordered  Captain 
Nugent,   who   was   well   acquainted   at   that   place,    to    take    the 
Racehorse   up   to  George's   Quav,  to  procure   as  expeditiously  as 
possible  the  most  skilful  pilots  for  Omoa  and  Gulph   of  Duke. 
Having  so  done,  he  was  directed  to  join  his  ship  at  Quay  Boquel, 
then  to  repair  to  Glovers  Reef,  where  I  waited   his  arrival,  having 
anchored  the  Charon  and  Lowestoffe  there  on  the   19th  instant. 
The  Monday  mornina;  followin2;,  I  had  the  mortification  to  learn, 
by  a  boat   that  had  escaped  from  George's  Quay,  that  it  had  been 
taken   by  the  Spaniards   fi\  e  days,  which  made   me  very  doubtful 
respecting  the  safety  of  Captain  Nugent ;  but  I  was  relieved  from 
that  anxiety  a  few  hours  afterwards  by  the  Pomona  and  Racehorse 
schooner   appearing  in  sight.     Upon   their  joining  me  with   the 
pilots,  I  bore  away  for  the  Gulph  of  Dulce,  where  we  arrived  in 
the  evening  of  the  22nd.     There  was  no  vessel  of  any  nation  to  be 
seen  in  the  Gulph.     I  therefore,  attended  by  Captains  Parker  and 
Nugent,  with  the  marines  of  the  squadron,  and  a  party  of  seamen 
in  the  boats,  pushed  up  the  river,  and  landed  at  the  Spanish  ware- 
houses before  twelve  that  night,  but  found  them  totally  abandoned 
and  empty,  except  the  remains  of  a  few  provisions,  which  seemed 
to  indicate  that  the  people  had  not  been  long  gone.     On  the  23rd, 
in  the  morning,  I  lent  a  number  of  men  from  the  ships  to  the 
Racehorse,  and  directed  Lieutenant  Trott  to  make  the  best  of  his 
way  to  Omoa,  to  reconnoitre  the  strength  of  the  place,  and   to 
look  for  the  ships  that  had  sailed  from  Dulce,  concluding  that  they 
would  be  found  at  that  port.     The  next  morning  the  Racehorse 
joined  me  at  sea  ;   from  her  I  learned  that  the  three  ships  were  at 
anchor  under  the  fort  ;   two  of  them  were  all  on  end,  and  the  third 
with  her  yards  and  top-masts  struck  ;  and  the  fortification  did  not 
appear  to  be  a  verv  strong  one.     Elated  at  the  information,  I  made 
sail  for  Omoa,  and  getting  close  off  the  port  by  twelve  o'clock  at 
night,  would  have  persuaded  the  pilot  to  have  carried  us  in,  but  he 
luckily  refused  ;  for  the  next  day,  when  we  came  to  approach  the 
fortification,  I   found   it  was   much  too   formidable   an   aspect    to 
promise  success  by  an  attempt  to  force  it ;  nor,  indeed,  would  it 
have  answered  any  good  end,  for  the  ships  had  all  their  yards  and 
top-masts  struck,  and  were  lying  up  a  creek,  where  we  could  not 
get  at  them,  had  we  even  silenced  near  forty  pieces  of  cannon, 
which  presented  themselves  to  our  view  from  the  different  batteries. 
The  only  hope,  therefore,  which  remained  of  our  being  masters  of 
those  ships,  arose  from  a  chance  that  we  might  catch  them  off  Cape 
Antonio  before  our  cruise  terminated,  which,  in  the  possibility  of 


304  BIOGRAPHICAL   MEMOIRS 

events,  I  thought  might  happen  ;  and  I  was  making  the  best  of 
my  way  with  the  ships  to  that  station,  stopping  only  three 
or  four  days  to  complete  my  water  in  the  Bay  of  Truxillo,  and  to 
learn  a  further  state  of  the  English  inhabitants  in  the  Bay  of 
Honduras. 

"  I  have  now  the  pleasure  to  inform  you  of  the  fortunate  escape 
of  Captain  Nugent  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards,  and  of  the 
subsequent  services  performed  by  him  at  George's  Quay,  where  he 
arrived  in  the  Racehorse  on  the  evening  of  the  19th,  having  left 
the  Pomona,  as  I  directed,  at  Quay  Boquel.  Captain  Nugent 
approached  the  shore  in  his  boat,  without  the  least  suspicion  that 
the  Quay  was  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy  ;  but  before  he  could 
land,  the  boat  was  attacked  by  a  number  of  hatteaux,  and  when 
taken  possession  of  by  the  Spaniards,  was  nearly  sinking,  having 
received  three  shots  through  her,  luckily  without  hurting  any 
body  ',  but  Captain  Nugent  and  his  people  were  made  prisoners  ; 
and  when  he  got  on  shore,  there  was  a  parade  for  execution,  such 
as  a  scaffold  and  a  guard  of  soldiers  ;  for  it  was  understood  to  be 
the  orders  with  which  the  Spaniards  came  to  attack  the  settlement, 
that  every  body  that  was  conquered,  and  had  made  resistance, 
should  be  put  to  death  ;  but  when  they  inquired,  and  found 
Captain  Nugent,  who  had  no  arms  in  his  boat,  and  did  not  resist, 
thev  contented  themselves  with  blindfolding,  stripping,  and  hand- 
cuffing him.  He  was  confined,  with  his  boat's  crew,  in  a  close 
prison.  During  their  operations,  a  great  number  of  batteaux^ 
assisted  by  an  armed  schooner,  attacked  the  Racehorse,  and 
attempted  to  board  her  ;  but  she  was  so  gallantly  and  obstin- 
ately defended  by  Lieutenant  Trott,  his  Officers,  and  people, 
that  the  Spaniards  were  repulsed  with  great  slaughter.  On  board  the 
Racehorse,  two  men  only  were  killed,  and  three  wounded.  When 
the  Racehorse  had  beaten  off  the  Spaniards,  she  repaired  imme- 
diately to  bring  up  the  Pomona  from  Quay  Boquel ;  and  as  soon 
as  the  frigate  appeared  in  sight,  the  Spaniards,  to  the  amount  of  500, 
took  to  their  craft,  and  quitted  the  Quay  with  great  precipitation, 
leaving  Captain  Nugent,  his  people,  and  the  inhabitants,  in  close 
confinement,  from  which  they  released  themselves;  and  Captain 
Nugent,  in  his  boat,  retook  possession  of  a  brig,  which  was  aground, 
and  the  Spaniards  had  captured  when  they  came  into  the  harbour. 
This  brig,  at  the  solicitation  of  the  inhabitants,  who  had  furnished 
her  with  seamen,  Captain  Nugent  armed,  and  sent  to  the  river  Belez, 
to  cover  the  embarkation  of  the  property  there  belonging  to  the 
English  settlers,  with  directions  that  she  should,  after  performing 
that  service,  repair  in  quest  of  the  ships  under  my  command,  and 
in  case  of  not  meeting  with  u€,  make  the  best  of  their  way  to 


CHARLES    EDMUND    NUGENT  305 

Jamaica.  Thinking  this  information  too  incomplete  to  dispatch 
the  Racehorse  with  to  Jamaica,  I  directed  Lieutenant  Trott,  as 
soon  as  he  quitted  Omoa,  to  go  in  quest  of  the  brig  to  the  river 
Belez,  and  afterwards  to  repair  to  George's  Quay,  and  land  the 
people  who  had  served  as  pilots,  and  were  desirous  of  being  put  on 
shore  there  ;  and  after  making  such  other  enquiries  as  I  thought 
necessary  to  direct  him  to  do,  I  ordered  her  to  join  the  squadron 
in  the  bay  of  Truxillo,  where  she  arrived  the  4th  of  October,  and 
informed  me  that  the  brig  armed  by  Captain  Nugent  had  nearly 
collected  the  different  settlers  in  the  bay  ;  that  70  of  them 
were  on  board,  and  more  than  200  under  escort  in  small  craft ; 
and  that  he  had  directed  them  to  Truxillo,  on  their  way  to  Black 
River.  They,  however,  did  not  appear  while  I  was  there  j  and 
the  King's  ships  being  wooded  and  watered,  I  put  to  sea  with 
them,  having  directed  Lieutenant  Trott  to  give  every  assistance  in 
his  power  towards  forwarding  the  brig  with  the  Bay  men  to  Black 
River,  in  the  Musquitto  shore,  if  they  arrived  at  Truxillo  while  he 
was  taking  in  his  water.  The  pilots  the  Racehorse  carried  to 
George's  Quay,  finding  no  King's  vessel  there,  or  security  for  their 
persons,  left  it  ;  and  the  inhabitants  of  every  settlement  we  claimed 
in  the  Bay  relinquished  their  property,  not  thinking  it  tenable 
against  the  superior  numbers  of  the  Spaniards,  and  were  removing 
as  fast  as  possible,  some  to  Jamaica,  but  the  major  part  of  them  to 
Black  River,  on  the  Musquitto  shore.  In  this  disagreeable  situa- 
tion were  things  in  the  Bay  of  Honduras,  when  I  left  it  upon  the 
4th  of  October  ;  but  on  the  7th  fortune  changed  her  face  upon 
us,  and  presented  to  our  view  the  Porcupine  sloop  of  war,  having 
under  her  convoy  a  detachment  of  troops  belonging  to  the  Loyal 
Irish,  and  some  Musquitto  Indians,  under  the  command  of  Capt. 
Commandant  Dalrymple,  who  was  as  desirous  as  myself  of  making 
a  land  and  sea  attack  upon  the  garrison  of  Omoa  and  the  Spanish 
galleons :  I  therefore  took  immediate  measures  to  secure  the 
services  of  these  people  who  had  been  driven  from  St.  George's 
Quay,  by  making  sail  myself  for  Truxillo,  and  dispatching  the 
frigates  to  Bonaccoa  and  Utilla,  in  quest  of  our  vessels  with  the 
Bay  men  ;  Lieutenant  Trott,  of  the  Racehorse,  I  sent  to  Rattan 
on  the  same  service.  They  all  returned  to  me  with  expedition 
and  success,  bringing  a  reinforcement  of  250  men.  We  forthwith 
set  to  work,  made  escalading  ladders,  fascines,  sand-bags,  and  every 
other  requisite  in  our  power,  for  carrying  on  a  siege  :  having 
settled  the  plan  of  attack,  gave  full  instructions  to  the  Captains  and 
Officers  who  were  to  carry  it  into  execution  ;  and  on  the  morning 
of  the  lOth  of  October,  I  sailed  with  the  Lowestoffe,  Pomona, 
Porcupine,  Racehorse,   three  schooners,  and  a  number  of  small 

X 


3o6  BIOGRAPHICAL    MEMOIRS 

craft,  for  Porto  Cavallo  Bay,  and  anchored  the  fleet  there  close  in 
shore. 

"On  the  evening  of  the  i6th,  Captain  Pakenham,  to  whom 
I  entrusted  the  command  of  landing  the  troops,  executed  my 
orders  in  so  officer-like  and  expeditious  a  manner,  that  the  whole 
was  formed  and  marched  from  the  beach  before  eleven  o'clock 
that  night.  From  the  intricacy  of  the  roads,  and  other  circum- 
stances, our  troops  were  prevented  from  making  any  great 
progress  before  the  next  morning,  when  they  pushed  forward  with 
alacrity  to  gain  the  commanding  ground  on  the  Governor's 
house ;  and  having  driven  away  the  Spaniards  who  contended  for 
the  possession  of  it,  we  occupied  that  very  important  post,  but 
were  so  annoyed  by  the  enemy's  musketry  from  the  town,  as  to 
compel  our  troops  to  set  fire  to  it.  In  the  midst  of  the  flame  I 
arrived  off  the  harbour  of  Omoa ;  and  the  wind,  I  flattered  my- 
self, would  have  carried  us  close  to  the  enemy's  batteries.  I 
therefore  made  the  simal  for  the  Lowestoffe  to  lead  us  to  action; 
it  was  obeyed  by  Captain  Parker  with  alacrity  and  spirit.  When 
we  opened  the  eastern  point,  the  enemy  began  to  fire  at  the 
Lowestoffe,  Charon,  Pomona,  and  Porcupine  ;  but  no  shots  were 
returned  till  their  guns  had  so  lulled  the  wind  as  to  leave  us  little 
prospect  of  getting  nearer  to  them ;  so  that  rather  to  cover 
ourselves  from  the  aim  by  smoke,  than  to  look  for  success  from  a 
distant  cannonade,  the  Charon  and  Lowestoffe  began  to  fire  ;  the 
Pomona  was  not  able  to  get  within  reach  of  her  guns  ;  and  as 
soon  as  I  had  the  power,  I  laid  the  ship's  head  to  the  offing  ;  a 
breeze  springing  up  soon  after  to  the  northward,  I  made  the 
signal  to  tack,  thinking  we  should  certainly  fetch  where  we  wished 
to  do  ;  in  this,  however,  we  were  disappointed,  the  wind  baffling 
and  forsaking  us.  The  Lowestoffe  ran  ashore,  and  received  a 
heavy  fire  from  the  enemy,  but  she  paid  off  again  ;  before  our 
boats  could  get  to  their  assistance,  their  hulls,  masts,  and  yards 
were  so  much  disabled  as  to  oblige  me  to  send  her  to  anchor  to 
leeward,  and  there  to  refit.  The  Charon's  rudder  was  choaked 
by  a  shot,  which  filled  the  space  between  it  and  the  stern-post 
with  splinters ;  part  of  her  wheel  was  shot  away,  and  the  mizzen- 
mast  badly  wounded. 

"On  the  1 8th,  Captain  Dalrymple  being  anxious  for  artillery 
being  sent  up  to  a  battery  he  was  constructing  on  Governor's 
Hill,  I  ordered  the  guns  from  the  Porcupine  to  be  landed  ;  they 
were  drawn  up  by  the  sailors  through  a  heavy  road,  and  up  a  deep 
ascent,  to  a  spot  where  they  did  remarkable  execution  ;  but  our 
time  being  precious,  from  various  considerations,  and  the  heat  of 
the  climate  making  this  duty  more  fatiguing  to  our  people,  it  was 


CHARLES   EDMUND   NUGENT  307 

concluded  on  between  Captain  Dalrymple  and  myself,  to  attempt 
an  escalade  the  following  morning  ;  and  the  King's  ships  to  co- 
operate, by  cannonading  the  wall  against  the  sea. 

"  I  made  the  signal  settled  for  the  attack  ;  I  weighed  anchor 
at   three  o'clock,  the   Pomona  and   LowestofFe   standing  for  the 
eastern,  and  the  Charon  for  the  western  angle  of  the  fort,  which  I 
began  to  cannonade,  when  Captain   Dalrymple,  in  a  most  gallant 
and  exemplary  manner,  stormed  on  the  land  side  with  the  seamen 
and  marines,  and  subdued  the  enemy  with  the  loss  of  little  blood. 
We  took  immediate  possession  of  two  register  ships  richly  laden, 
which,  with  the  cargoes  of  other  vessels  of  less  note,  will  amount 
to  the  sum  of  three  millions  of  piastres  or  dollars. 
'   "  The  fort   is  an  amazing   pile  of  buildings  ;  the  greatest  part 
of  it  is  an  admirable  sort  of  stone  ;  the  remainder  is  brick.     It  has 
cost   the  Spaniards  twenty-four    years    labour,    and    the    lives    of 
thousands  of  their   subjects.      Since   it   has    been    taken,  we  are 
astonished,   from   the  strength   of  it,  that  it  was   so   easily   van- 
quished.    The  Spanish  Governor  is  very  solicitous  to  ransom  the 
fort,  and  has  offered  300,000  dollars  for  it.     The  250  quintals  of 
quicksilver  which  came  from  Old  Spain,  and  we  have  now  taken, 
the  Spaniards  would  have  bought  at  any  price,  saying,  they  would 
give  double  its  value,  because  they  should  have  no  other  means  to 
work  any  of  the  valuable  mines  in  the  province.     Their  reasons 
for  wishing  it  determined  me  not  to  part  with  a  single  ounce  of 
the  quicksilver,  nor  would  I  consent  to  ransom  the  fort.     The 
number  of  prisoners  in  the  enemy's  fort  far  exceeded  the  troops 
that  stormed  it,   and   whose  undaunted   behaviour  has   added   so 
much  lustre  to  the  British  arms.     Their  humanity  has  not  been 
less  conspicuous  than  their  bravery  ;  nor  can  there  be  a  greater 
contrast    than    between    the    treatment    received    by    the    King's 
subjects  at  George's  Quay,  which  surrendered  at  discretion,  and 
the  Spanish  garrison  of  Omoa,  though  taken  by  storm  ;   Captain 
Dalrymple's  orders  and  my  wishes  have  been  punctually  obeyed, 
even  by  the  Musquitto  men,  and  those  of  Honduras  that  received 
such    ill-treatment.       Proper    respect    has    been    shewn     to     the 
Governor,    Spanish    officers,    soldiers,    and    inhabitants ;     neither 
clothes,  watches,  pocket-money,  nor  other  effects  have  been  taken 
from  these  prisoners.     The  ornaments  of  the  church  the  captors 
have  agreed  to  give  back,  if  the   Spanish   Court   does   punctually 
comply  with  the  agreement  respecting  the  exchange  of  prisoners. 
The   uniform  bravery  and   good   conduct  of  all  the  officers  and 
seamen   under  my  command,  may  make   it  appear  ungracious  to 
mark   particular   people ;    but   the   sendees   rendered    by   Captain 
Pakenham    and    Lieutenant    Trott,    call     for    my   most    earnest 


3o8  BIOGRAPHICAL   MEMOIRS 

recommendation  of  them  to  their  Lordships'  favour.  The  former 
gentleman,  who  is  the  bearer  of  these  dispatches,  can  give  more 
perfect  information  respecting  the  reduction  of  this  fort  and 
settlement.  Captain  Nugent  has  exerted  himself  upon  every 
point  of  duty  in  a  distinguished  manner.  I  am  not  particularly 
acquainted  with  the  merits  of  individuals  who  served  on 
shore,  except  that  Commandant  Dalrymple  is  entitled  to  infinite 
honour  and  praise  for  the  gallant  manner  in  which  he  led  the 
troops  to  the  escalade.  Captain  Cardan  exhibited  many  proofs  of 
his  abilities  as  an  engineer  and  a  soldier.  I  must  leave  it  with 
Captain  Commandant  Dalrymple  to  give  due  praise  to  all  those 
whose  services  on  shore  call  for  it ;  he  will,  I  am  sure,  take  notice 
of  Lieutenant  Wightman,  of  the  marines,  who  was  wounded 
under  the  enemy's  walls,  and  of  those  who  have  deserved  it  at  his 
hands.  I  have  the  pleasure  to  assure  your  Lordships,  that  the 
most  perfect  harmony  and  co-operation  have  subsisted  between  the 
King's  troops  employed  at  sea  and  on  shore.  Such  services  as 
have  been  in  my  power  to  render  my  country,  I  trust  will  prove 
agreeable  to  his  Majesty. 

"  I  am.  Sir 
"  Your  very  humble  servant, 

"John  Luttrell." 


yf  Return  of  the  killed  and  wounded  on  board  his  Majesty's  Ships, 
Charon,  Lowestoffe,  and  Porcupine,  in  an  Action  against  the  Catholic 
King's  Fort  of  St.  Fernando  de  Omoa,  on  the  ijth  of  October,  1779. 

Killed.  Wounded. 
Charon    .         .         .         .          i  6 

Lowestoffe       ...         3  5 

Porcupine         .         .         .  i  o 

A  Return  of  the  killed  and  wounded  on  board  the  Racehorse  armed 
vessel,  at  George's  ^uay,  in  the  Bay  of  Honduras,  the  l^th  of 
Sept.  1779. 

Killed.    Wounded. 
Racehorse        ...         2  3 

Captain  Nugent  remained  cruising  on  the  Jamaica  station  until 
the  year  1781.  In  the  summer  of  1782  he  accompanied  Sir 
Peter  Parker  to  England,  in  his  Majesty's  ship  the  Pomona,  who, 
at  the  end  of  July,  arrived  at  Spithead  in  the  Sandwich,  with  the 


CHARLES   EDMUND    NUGENT  309 

Comte  de  Grasse,  and  several  other  French  officers  of  rank,  who 
had  been  taken  prisoners  on  April  12. 

It  will  be  recollected  that,  at  the  close  of  1782,  negotiations 
were  commenced  by  the  belligerent  powers  for  the  restoration  of 
a  general  peace,  which  was  ratified  in  the  course  of  the  succeeding 
year  j  consequently  the  naval  services  of  our  officer  were  no 
longer  requisite,  and  he  was  allowed  a  breathing  time  from  the 
toils  of  war  and  the  severe  duties  of  his  profession.  Captain 
Nugent,  however,  did  not  remain  wholly  inactive  ;  for,  shortly 
after  his  return  to  En2:land,  he  had  the  honour  of  obtaining;  a  seat 
in  Parliament.  He  was  to  have  been  returned  for  the  borough  of 
St.  Mawes,  in  Cornwall  j  but  in  consequence  of  a  family  arrange- 
ment between  the  Marquis  of  Buckingham,  then  Lord  Temple, 
and  the  late  Earl  of  Nugent,  he  became  the  representative  for  the 
town  of  Buckingham,  and  a  friend  of  the  Marquis  was  returned 
by  Lord  Nugent  for  St.  Mawes.  This  event  took  place,  we 
believe,  in  the  year  1783,  and  Captain  Nugent  remained  in  the 
House  during  the  whole  Parliament. 

It  is  related  of  Addison,  that,  though  the  most  eloquent  writer 
of  his  age,  he  never  but  once  attempted  to  deliver  his  sentiments 
in  the  Senate,  and  that,  so  great  was  his  confusion  at  that 
moment,  so  whollv  did  his  confidence  desert  him,  that  he  was 
compelled  to  resume  his  seat  without  completing  a  sentence.  We 
know  not  whether  a  similar  diffidence  operated  on  the  feelings  of 
Captain  Nugent ;  but  it  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  during  the 
seven  years  in  which  he  held  a  seat  in  the  House  of  Commons,  he 
never  once  publicly  addressed  the  Speaker  of  that  Assembly.  It  is 
worthy  of  remark  also,  that,  with  one  exception.  Captain  Nugent 
uniformly  voted  with  the  Ministry  of  that  day.  The  exception  to 
which  we  allude,  was  at  the  time  when  the  Duke  of  Richmond's 
system  of  fortifications  was  rejected  by  the  House.  Captain 
Nugent,  however,  was  still  in  the  majority ;  for,  the  votes  of  the 
members  being  equal,  the  Speaker  was  necessitated  to  decide  the 
question,  which  he  did,  by  declaring  against  the  system.  Our 
officer's  motive  for  this  dereliction,  we  presume  to  have  originated 
in  his  thinking,  as  we  believe  every  honest  tar  does  think,  that  the 
grand  defence  of  our  country  is  in  its  marine,  and  that  an  exten- 
sive system  of  fortifications  would  tend  to  a  neglect  of  that 
important  object.  It  is  possible,  too,  that  he  might  consider  the 
measure  to  be  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the  constitution,  as  requir- 
ing a  large  standing  army,  and  employing  too  great  a  portion  of 
the  force  of  the  country  in  its  defence. 

We  believe  Captain  Nugent  remained  unemployed  till  1793, 
when  the  late  war  was  commenced  against  the  French  Republic. 


310  BIOGRAPHICAL    MEMOIRS 

On  December  26,  in  that  year,  Vice-Admiral  Sir  John  Jervis 
sailed  from  Spithead,  in  the  Boyne,  of  98  guns,  with  a  squadron  of 
ships  of  war,  having  under  his  convoy  a  fleet  of  transports,  with 
troops  on  board,  commanded  by  General  Sir  Charles  Grey,  and 
destined  for  the  West  Indies.  Captain  Nugent  sailed  with  this 
squadron,  in  the  Veteran,  a  sixty-four  gun  ship.  After  a  passage  of 
nearly  six  weeks,  the  squadron  arrived  at  Carlisle  Bay,  Barbadoes, 
whence  they  obtained  a  considerable  reinforcement,  and  on  February 
3,  1794,  proceeded  to  the  attack  of  Martinico.  Before  March  16, 
the  whole  island,  excepting  Forts  Bourbon  and  Royal,  was  in  pos- 
session of  the  English  ;  and,  it  being  determined  to  attempt  the  town 
and  Fort  Royal  by  assault,  scaling-ladders  were  prepared,  and  the 
Asia  ^  and  Zebra  ^  were  appointed  to  hold  themselves  in  readiness 
"  to  enter  the  careenage,  in  order  to  batter  the  fort  and  to  cover  the 
flat  boats,  barges,  and  pinnaces  under  the  command  of  Commodore 
Thompson,  supported  by  Captains  Nugent  and  Riou,  while  the 
grenadiers  and  light  infantry  from  the  camp  at  Sourierre,  advanced 
with  field-pieces  along  the  side  of  the  hill  under  Fort  Bourbon, 
towards  the  bridge,  over  the  canal,  at  the  back  of  Fort  Royal."  ^ 
The  result  of  this  plan,  which  was  successful  in  every  part, 
excepting  that  of  the  Asia  getting  into  her  station,  will  be  seen  by 
the  following  official  letter  from  Commodore  Thompson  to  Vice- 
Admiral  Sir  J.  Jervis: — 

"  Fort  Royal,  March  10,  1794. 
"  Sir, 

"  I  HAVE  the  pleasure  to  acquaint  you,  that  the  only  loss 
we  have  sustained  in  the  capture  of  Fort  Royal,  is  the  pilot  of  the 
Zebra  killed,  and  four  seamen  belonging  to  the  same  wounded. 
So  soon  as  I  perceived  she  could  fetch  in,  I  gave  orders  to  Captains 
Nugent  and  Riou,  who  commanded  the  flat-boats,  which,  with 
the  men  embarked  in  them,  were  laying  upon  their  oars,  to  push 
in  and  mount  the  walls ;  when  every  exertion  was  made,  and  the 
boats  seemed  to  fly  towards  the  forts.  Captain  Faulkner,  in  the 
mean  time,  in  a  most  spirited  and  gallant  manner  entered  the 
harbour  through  the  fire  of  all  their  batteries,  and  laid  his  sloop 
alongside  the  walls,  there  being  deep  water  close  to  them  ;  when 
the  enemy,  terrified  at  his  audacity,  the  flat-boats  full  of  seamen 
pulling  towards  them,  and  the  appearance  of  the  troops  from  all 
quarters,  struck  their  colours  to  the  Zebra.     A  well-directed  and 

^  Of  64  guns,  commanded  by  Captain  Brown. 
^  Of  16  guns,  commanded  by  Captain  Faulkner. 
^  Vide  Sir  J.  Jervis's  dispatches  on  the  occasion. 


CHARLES    EDMUND   NUGENT  31J 

steady  fire  from  the  gun-boats  under  Lieutenant  Bowen,  as  also 
from  our  batteries,  was  of  great  service.  The  alacrity  and 
steadiness  of  the  officers  and  seamen  in  general,  under  my 
command,  was  such,  that  I  had  not  the  least  doubt  of  success 
against  the  whole  force  of  the  enemy,  had  they  disputed  our 
entrance. 

"  The  fort  is  full  of  ammunition  and  stores  of  all  sorts  ;  but 
the  buildings  are  in  a  miserable  condition,  from  the  effects  of  our 
bombs,  the  gun-boats,  and  batteries. 

"  I  have  the  honour  to  be,  &c. 

"  C.  Thompson." 

M.  Rochambeau,  who  commanded  in  Fort  Bourbon,  having 
witnessed  the  success  of  the  British  arms  at  Fort  Royal,  sent  out 
his  aide-de-camp  with  a  flag,  offering  to  surrender  on  capitulation. 
Had  this  not  been  the  case,  however,  the  place  must  immediately 
have  fallen  by  storm.  Captain  Faulkner,  we  believe,  was  the 
first  person  on  the  walls,  and  Captain  Nugent  the  second.  The 
Lieutenant  of  the  latter  hauled  down  the  hostile  colours  ;  and 
during  the  negotiation.  Captain  Nugent  held  the  command  of  the 
fort.  The  terms  of  surrender  were  adjusted  on  the  22nd,  and  on 
the  following  day  Captain  Nugent,  in  conjunction  with  General 
Whyte,  had  the  honour  of  hoisting  the  English  colours,  when  the 
name  of  Fort  Bourbon  was  changed  to  that  of  Fort  George. 

The  whole  of  the  loss  sustained  by  the  British  Navy  at 
Martinico  amounted  only  to  fifteen  killed  and  thirty-two  wounded. 

To  the  reduction  of  Martinico  immediately  succeeded  the 
capture  of  St.  Lucia,  without  the  loss  of  a  single  man. 

The  naval  and  military  commanders  having  left  a  sufficient 
number  of  troops  for  the  protection  of  St.  Lucia,  returned  thence 
to  Fort  Royal  Bay,  where  they  arrived  on  the  evening  of 
April  5.  On  the  morning  of  the  8th  of  the  month.  Sir  John 
Jervis,  with  the  squadron,  troops,  etc.,  sailed  to  the  reduction  of 
Guadaloupe.  For  a  clear  and  spirited  detail  of  the  particulars  of 
this  expedition,  we  must  refer  our  readers  to  the  following  extract 
from  Sir  Charles  Grey's  dispatch  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  dated 
Point  a  Petre,  April  12,  1794  ;  briefly  observing,  that  in  the  very 
desperate  and  hazardous  service  of  carrying  Fort  Fleur  d'Epee  by 
storm.  Captain  Nugent,  who,  with  Captain  Faulkner,  commanded 
a  battalion  of  seamen,  very  eminently  distinguished  himself. 

"In  my  dispatch  of  the  4th  instant,  I  had  the  honour  to 
acquaint  you  with  the  success  of  his  Majesty's  arms  in  the  conquest 
of  the  island  of  St.  Lucia.  Having  left  Sir  C.  Gordon  to  command 
in    that    island,    I    re-embarked    the  same   day,  and   returned  to 


312  BIOGRAPHICAL    MEMOIRS 

Martinique  the  5th  instant,  where  we  shifted  the  troops  from  the 
King's  ships  to  the  transports,  took  on  board  during  the  6th  Sc  7th, 
heavy  ordnance  6c  stores,  provisions,  &c.  I  sailed  again  in  the 
morning  of  the  8th  following.  The  Admiral  detaching  Captain 
Rogers  with  the  Ouebec  ;  Captain  Faulkner,  with  the  Blanche  ; 
Captain  Incledon,  with  the  Ceres  ;  and  Captain  Scott,  with  the 
Rose,  to  attack  the  small  island  called  the  Saints,  which  they 
executed  with  infinite  gallantry  and  good  conduct.  Having 
landed  part  of  the  seamen  and  marines,  and  carried  them  in  the 
morning  without  loss,  the  Boyne,  in  which  I  sailed  with  the 
Admiral,  and  the  Veteran,  Captain  Nugent,  anchored  off  this 
place  about  noon,  the  loth  instant,  &  some  more  of  the  fleet,  in 
the  course  of  the  afternoon  ;  but  a  fresh  wind  &  lee-current 
prevented  most  of  the  transports  from  getting  in  till  yesterday,  Sc 
some  of  them  till  this  day.  Without  waiting,  however,  the 
arrival  of  all  the  troops,  I  made  a  landing  at  Grosier  Bay  at  one 
o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  nth  instant,  under  the  fire  of  Fort 
Grosier  Sc  Fort  Pleur  d'Epee,  with  part  of  the  first  Sc  second 
battalions  of  grenadiers,  one  company  of  the  43rd  regiment,  Sc  500 
seamen  Sc  marines  detached  by  the  Admiral,  under  the  command 
of  Captain  George  Grey,  of  the  Boyne  ;  the  whole  under  the 
command  of  that  able  Sc  vigilant  Officer  Colonel  Symms,  who 
had  infinite  merit  in  the  execution  of  it ;  and  the  landing  was 
covered  by  Lord  Garlics,  in  the  Winchelsea,  his  Lordship  having, 
with  infinite  judgment  Sc  intrepidity,  placed  his  ship  so  well,  Sc 
laid  it  so  close  to  the  batteries,  that  they  could  not  stand  to  their 
guns,  which  were  soon  silenced.  In  effecting  this  essential  service 
Lord  Garlics  was  slightly  wounded,  and  we  did  not  suffer  materially 
in  any  other  respect.  Some  more  of  the  troops  arrived,  Sc 
perceiving  the  enemy  in  considerable  force  Sc  number  at  the  strong 
situation  of  Fort  Fleur  d'Epee,  I  determined  that  no  time  should 
be  lost  in  attacking  them,  and  carried  those  posts  by  them  at  five 
o'clock  this  morning,  under  a  heavy  fire  of  cannon  Sc  musketry, 
although  they  were  found  infinitely  strong,  and  changed  the  name 
of  Fort  d'Epee  to  Fort  Prince  of  Wales ;  our  troops  being 
ordered,  which  was  strictly  obeyed,  not  to  fire,  but  to  execute 
every  thing  with  the  bayonet,  having  previously  made  the  follow- 
ing disposition  : — The  first  division  under  the  command  of  his 
Royal  Highness  Prince  Edward,  consisting  of  the  first  Sc  second 
battalions  of  grenadiers,  Sc  100  of  the  naval  battalion,  to  attack 
the  Port  in  Morne  Marigot.  The  second  division,  commanded 
by  Major-General  Dundas,  consisting  of  the  first  Sc  second 
battalion  of  light  infantry,  Sc  100  of  the  naval  battalion,  to  attack 
the   fort  of  Fleur  d'Epee    in    the   rear,   Sc  to    cut  off  its   com- 


CHARLES  EDMUND  NUGENT      313 

munication  with  Fort  Louis  and  Point  a  Petre.  The  third, 
commanded  by  Colonel  Symms,  consisting  of  the  third  battalion 
of  grenadiers,  and  the  third  battalion  of  light  infantry,  & 
the  remainder  of  the  naval  battalion,  to  proceed  by  the  road 
on  the  sea-side,  &  to  co-operate  with  Major- General  Dundas. 
The  detachments  of  the  naval  battaUon,  who  were  of  the  most 
essential  service  in  those  brilliant  actions,  were  very  ably  com- 
manded by  Captains  Nugent  &  Faulkner.  The  signal  for  the 
whole  to  commence  the  attack,  was  a  gun  from  the  Boyne,  by  the 
Admiral,  at  five  o'clock  this  morning.  The  several  divisions 
having  marched  earlier,  according  to  the  distance  they  had  to  go, 
to  be  ready  to  combine  &  commence  the  attack  at  the  same 
instant  ;  &  this  service  was  perfected  with  much  exactitude, 
superior  ability,  spirit  &  good  conduct,  by  the  officers  who  severally 
commanded  these  divisions,  &  every  officer  &  soldier  under 
them,  as  to  do  them  more  honour  than  I  can  find  words  to  convey 
an  adequate  idea  of,  or  to  express  the  high  sense  I  entertain  of 
their  extraordinary  merit  on  this  occasion.  The  success  we  have 
already  had,  put  us  in  possession  of  Grand  Terre,  and  we  shall  use 
our  utmost  exertions  to  get  in  possession  of  Basse  Ferre  ;  also,  with 
all  possible  expedition  to  complete  the  conquest  of  this  island. 
The  return  of  the  killed  &  wounded,  k  also  a  return  of  the  killed  & 
wounded  and  prisoners  taken  of  the  enemy,  are  transmitted 
herewith.  The  Commanding  Officer  of  the  Artillery  has  not 
brought  the  return  of  ordnance  &  ordnance  stores  taken,  but  they 
shall  be  transmitted  by  the  next  opportunity." 

In  this  affair,  the  loss  sustained  by  the  English  Army  amounted 
to  fifteen  killed  and  forty-five  wounded  ;  by  the  Navy,  two  mid- 
shipmen and  eleven  seamen  wounded.  The  loss  of  the  enemy 
was  sixty-seven  killed,  fifty-five  wounded,  and  a  hundred  and  ten 
prisoners. 

The  surrender  of  Basse  Terre,  by  capitulation,  comprehending 
the  whole  island  of  Guadaloupe,  with  its  dependencies,  immedi- 
ately followed  this  successful  achievement. 

Captain  Nugent  was  sent  home  with  dispatches,  announcing 
the  above  event.  He  arrived  in  London  on  the  20th  of  May.  In 
the  letter  from  Sir  John  Jervis,  of  which  he  was  the  bearer,  he  is 
thus  mentioned — 

"  Captain  Nugent,  who  carries  this  dispatch,  will  recite  many 
parts  of  the  detail,  which,  in  the  various  operations  I  had  to  con- 
cert, have  escaped  my  memory.  He  served  with  the  naval 
battalions  at  Martinique,  St.  Lucia,  and  in  this  island,  and  was 
present  at  many  of  the  most  important  strokes." 

Some    time    after    Captain    Nugent's    return    home.    Captain 


314  BIOGRAPHICAL   MEMOIRS 

Pakenham  being  extremely  ill,  and  supposed  to  be  dying,  at  Bath, 
he  was  appointed  to  his  ship,  the  Gibraltar,  of  80  guns  ;  but  about 
a  fortnight  after,  to  Captain  Nugent's  great  surprise,  Capt.  Paken- 
ham came  on  board,  perfectly  well,  and  resumed  the  command. 

During  the  suspension,  and  previously  to  the  trial  of  Captain 
Molly,  in  the  spring  of  1795,  Captain  Nugent  commanded  his 
ship,  the  Caesar,  of  80  guns;  after  which,  he  was  appointed  to 
the  Pompee,  another  eighty-gun  ship,  which  had  been  taken  from 
the  French  at  Toulon. 

He  proceeded  with  the  Pompee  to  Spithead;  but  after  he  had 
seen  her  completely  fitted,  and  after  the  Court  Martial  on  Captain 
Molloy  had  terminated,  the  First  Lieutenant  of  the  Caesar,  in 
compliance  with  the  wishes  of  her  crew,  waited  upon  Captain 
Nugent,  and  solicited  him  to  apply  for  the  command  of  that  ship. 
A  stronger  proof  than  this,  of  high  respect  and  esteem  for  an 
officer,  can  scarcely  be  given — a  respect  and  esteem  which  Captain 
Nugent's  conciliating  conduct  has  ever  entitled  him  to,  and  which 
he  still  holds  in  the  service  in  an  unabated  degree.  The  flattering 
request  was  acceded  to;  Captain  Nugent  resigned  the  Pompee, 
and  obtained  the  Caesar,  in  which  ship  he  continued  to  be  con- 
stantly employed  in  the  Channel  Fleet,  until  he  received  his  flag, 
as  Rear- Admiral  of  the  Blue. 

During  this  time  Captain  Nugent  sailed  in  a  detachment 
under  Admiral  Cornwallis,  to  block  up  the  French  squadron  under 
the  command  of  Richery,  in  the  Harbour  of  Calais. 

On  the  8th  of  October,  1796,  Spain  declared  war  against 
Great  Britain;  and  in  the  December  following.  Captain  Nugent 
accompanied  Rear-Admiral  Sir  Roger  Curtis,  with  a  cruising 
squadron,  to  the  westward,  in  quest  of  the  French  Admiral 
Richery,  who  was  then  supposed  to  be  returning  from  Newfound- 
land. In  this  cruise,  Captain  Nugent  bore  a  distinguishing 
pendant  in  the  Caesar. 

We  now  draw  to  the  close  of  our  officer's  professional 
services,  as  far  as  they  have  yet  extended. 

On  the  20th  of  February,  1797,  Captain  Nugent  was  promoted 
to  the  rank  of  Rear-Admiral  of  the  Blue  Squadron;  on  the  14th 
of  February,  1799,  he  was  made  Rear-Admiral  of  the  Red;  and 
on  the  1st  of  January,  1801,  he  was  still  farther  promoted  to  the 
rank  which  he  now  holds,  that  of  Vice-Admiral  of  the  Blue 
Squadron. 

In  1805  he  was  Captain  of  the  Fleet  off  Brest    under    Corn- 

wallis;  after  which  he  had  no  further  service,  but  was  promoted  to  be 

Admiral  on  28  April,  1808,  and  Admiral  of  the  Fleet  on  24  April, 

^^33-      On  12  March,  1834,  he  received  the  Grand  Cross  of  the 


CHARLES   EDMUND    NUGENT  315 

Hanoverian  Order,  and  died  on   7  January,  1844,  aged  85.     He 
was  married  and  left  issue  one  daughter. 

Not  many  years  before  his  death  Sir  Charles  was  an  inmate  of 
Charing  Cross  Hospital,  from  having  accidentally  broken  his  leg 
by  slipping  off  the  kerb-stone  near  the  Nelson  Monument,  from 
which  accident  however  he  perfectly  recovered. 

^^  %^  *^  ^^  ^^  «j^  ^^ 

^^  ^^  ^^  ^^  ^^  ^^  ^^ 

It  is  a  remarkable  coincidence,  and  the  fact  is  of  itself  singular 
in  the  annals  of  the  United  Services,  that  while  Sir  Charles  Nugent 
was  the  Senior  Admiral  of  the  Navy,  his  brother.  Sir  George,  was 
at  the  time  the  oldest  General  Officer  in  the  Army. 


APPENDIX    III 

THE    LIFE   AND   ADVENTURES 

OF 

ROBERT   NUGENT,  Junior. 

Robert,  Junior,  whom  we  left  with  Father  Lynch,  remained 
with  him  for  a  few  years,  and  was  then  removed  from  Galway  to 
Dublin,  and  placed  under  Pagan's  care  in  Wine  Tavern  Street, 
at  the  same  Academy  where  his  father  and  most  of  his  family 
had  been  educated. 

Nugent  still  continued  the  meagre  allowance  of  ten  pounds  a 
year,  which  was  a  very  inadequate  sum  to  provide  the  requisite 
board,  clothes,  schooling  and  books  :  the  boy  was  therefore  sub- 
jected to  very  bad  usage,  being  incessantly  taunted  with  the 
insufficiency  of  such  mean  pay,  his  life  moreover  being  rendered 
less  happy  on  account  of  a  misfortune  which  affected  not  only 
himself  but  his  school-fellows  in  general,  and  which  is  described 
with  a  certain  degree  of  unconscious  humour  by  the  boy  himself 
as  follows  : — 

"  A  certain  person  whose  authority  in  the  house  was  not  little, 
being  terribly  addicted  to  drinking,  hesitated  not  to  make  use  of 
the  basest  means  to  attain  the  intoxicating  juice;  day  after  day 
our  books,  hats,  buckles,  and  what  not,  went  to  wrack ;  for  which, 
as  no  account  could  be  given,  we  were  sure  to  smart  severely;  at 
length  the  thief  was  detected,  but  in  lieu  of  being  relieved,  our 
distress  was  only  increased  by  the  discovery  ;  how  dared  the  subtle 
young  villains  impose  so  gross  a  falsehood  upon  him  ?  was  he  to 
be  deceived  by  so  shallow  an  artifice  ?  in  short,  the  blows  were 
not  only  heavier,  but  more  frequent,  occasioned  by  numberless 
lies  invented  through  a  motive  of  revenge.  But  length  of  time 
produced  so  flagrant  a  proof  that  the  most  partial  eyes  could  no 
longer  be  kept  closed;  a  pair  of  new  buckskin  breeches,  he  had 
scarcely  worn  a  week,  were  artfully  conveyed  away  from  under 

316 


ROBERT   NUGENT,  JUNIOR  317 

his  pillow,  a  theft  of  this  nature  would  not  long  bear  secrecy  i  an 
advertisement  was  published  in  the  daily  papers,  which  soon  pro- 
duced the  breeches  from  a  wardrobe  in  Plunket  Street  (a  street 
where  all  sorts  of  old,  and  second-hand  cloathes  are  bought  and 
sold,  being  little  inferior  in  business  of  that  kind  to  Monmouth 
Street  in  London),  and  brought  the  thing  so  home  to  the  Party 
we  had  so  often  accused  in  vain,  as  would  admit  of  no  excuse. 
The  consequence  was  very  severe  reprimands  from  most  of  the 
boys'  parents,  and  the  decrease  of  his  school  by  others  taking  theirs 
away ;  in  short,  so  great  was  his  vexation  at  his  business  declining 
together  with  the  various  intemperancies  and  irregularities  he 
daily  more  and  more  experienced,  as  sometime  afterwards  to  cut 
short  the  thread  of  his  life,  and  force  him  to  seek  that  peace 
in  the  grave,  which  he  could  not  find  on  earth." 

Nueent  entirely  neglected  his  son  during;  the  last  two  or  three 
^  r  1  • 

years  of  his  being  at  the  Academy,  and  the  means  of  his  support 

entirely   proceeded  from   his  mother's  relations,   though    he  was 

never  allowed   to  see  any  of  them  :   his  father's  sisters,  however, 

took  considerable  notice  of  him,  and  sent  for  him  on  holidays  to 

their    house    in    Smithfield,  and    took    him    to    plays  and    other 

amusements. 

About  this  time  Col.  Michael  Nugent  fell  seriously  ill.  He 
had  always  deeply  regretted  his  son's  unpardonable  conduct  which 
had  led  to  a  breach  so  irremediable  between  his  family  and  the 
Nugents  of  Donore,  and  being  an  upright  and  humane  man  he 
strongly  felt  the  importance  of  his  son's  fulfilling  his  duty  towards 
the  unhappy  boy  whom  he  had  been  the  means  of  brmging  into 
the  world.  Col.  Nugent  had  moreover  a  great  affection  for  the 
boy,  and  had  often  visited  him  whilst  under  the  tuition  of  Father 
Lynch.  "I  still  remember,"  writes  the  boy  some  years  after- 
wards, "  the  frequent  admonitions,  the  strict  orders  given  by  the 
good  old  gentleman  to  the  priest,  concerning  me  ;  and  have  seen 
the  big  tear  overflow  its  banks,  whilst  he  delivered  the  salutary 
charge."  On  his  deathbed  therefore  Michael  Nugent  implored 
his  son  to  do  his  duty,  declaring  that  unless  he  would  give  his 
most  solemn  assurance  to  make  the  boy  a  suitable  provision,  he 
would  do  so  himself.  Robert  gave  the  promise,  and  his  father  died 
without  altering  his  will.  Shortly  after  this  his  mother  died,  and 
upon  her  death-bed  at  Bath  she  extracted  the  same  assurances 
which  he  promised  most  faithfully  to  fulfil. 

Robert  Nugent,  junior,  had  up  to  this  period  been  supported  by 
his  mother's  relations  ;  but  when  he  had  reached  the  age  of  ten, 
which  was  then  considered  old  enough  to  be  introduced  to  business 
of  some    kind,  they  determined   to  send   him    to    his   father   in 


3i8  BIOGRAPHICAL   MEMOIRS 

England  that  he  might  reap  the  benefit  of  the  solemn  engagements 
he  had  entered  into  at  the  request  of  his  dying  parents.  With 
that  end  in  view  they  obtained  from  Mrs.  O'Byrne  a  written 
statement  declaring  that  the  boy  was  the  real  son  of  Robert 
Nugent,  Esq.,  of  Gosfield. 

Upon  arriving  in  London  the  boy  wrote  to  his  father  as  he  had 
been  recommended,  and  awaited  his  reply  at  an  inn  called  the 
*  Castle  '  in  Aldersgate  Street. 

It  will  be  seen  that  much  of  the  foregoing  narrative  is  taken 
almost  textually  from  contemporary  accounts.  So  far  there  is 
little  reason  to  doubt,  at  all  events,  the  general  truth  of  the  story. 

Some  years  afterwards  he  himself  describes  the  scene  of  his  first 
meeting  with  his  father,  and  of  his  subsequent  experiences  in  a 
work  which  he  dignifies  with  the  title  of  an  Historical  Novel 
deduced  from  the  distresses  of  real  life  called  The  Oppressed 
Captive,  in  which  he  professes  to  give  an  impartial  and  candid 
account  of  the  unparalleled  sufferings  of  Caius  Silius  Nugenius, 
by  which  he  signifies  himself,  at  the  suit  of  an  implacable  and 
relentless  parent,  whom  he  names  Tiberius  Nugenius.  How  far 
his  account  is  a  true  one  it  is  impossible  to  conjecture,  but  it  is 
probable  that  at  least  it  is  partly  accurate,  and  as  it  is  highly 
characteristic  of  the  times  I  propose  to  allow  him  to  tell  his  story 
in  his  own  words. 

"  I  was  kept  in  suspense,"  he  writes,  "  two  or  three  days  before 
I  heard  anything  in  return  ;  when  late  one  evening,  a  post  chaise 
drove  violently  into  the  inn-yard,  a  lusty  tall  gentleman,  wrapp'd 
up  in  a  horseman's  coat,  immediately  stepped  out,  and  coming 
into  the  house,  in  a  voice  the  tone  of  which,  not  being  modulated 
in  the  mildest  strain,  conveyed  no  very  favourable  opinion  of  the 
speaker  to  the  ideas  of  the  standers  by,  thus  addressed  himself  to 
the  lord  of  the  Castle,  *  Have  you  got,  friend,  in  your  custody 
a  white-headed  boy  from  Ireland f  'Yes.'  'Why  then  do 
you  not  bring  him  ? '  '  You  never  implied  so  much  before,' 
was  returned  :  '  If  you  was  not  stupid,  friend,  there  could  have 
been  no  necessity  to  explain  myself  any  farther '  :  '  You  might 
speak   a   little  civiler  howsomever,'  replied  the  landlord,  '  but   a 

horse    as    never    eat    oats,    one    cannot    expect    to '    he    was 

proceeding,  when  the  gentleman's  wide  coat  turning  aside  acci- 
dentally discovered  the  blaze  of  a  broad  gold  lace,  which  had 
hitherto  been  concealed,  the  sight  of  which  had  such  an  effect 
upon  the  Publican  as  to  make  him  forget  the  remaining  part  of 
his  coarse  proverb,  and  elevating  his  voice  a  degree  higher,  '  Why, 
Tim,  do  you  not  light  his  honour  upstairs,  as  you  see  he  is  in  such 
a  haste  ;  what  would  your  honour  please  to  have  brought  up  ? ' 


ROBERT   NUGENT,  JUNIOR  319 

'  Bring   a   bottle  of  wine.'     '  A  bottle   of   wine  to  the  rose  this 
moment  :   Please  your  honour  permit  me  to  light  you  up.' 

"  Such  was  the  dialogue,  which  with  an  aching  heart  I  listened 
attentively  to  on  the  stair-head. 

"  Upon  entering  the  room.  '  Set  down  the  wine,  friend,  and 
retire.'  Which  being  complied  with,  he  drew  a  chair,  and 
calling  me  from  the  corner  of  the  room  where  I  was  retired,  and 
biting  the  ends  of  my  fingers  through  fear — '  well,  mv  boy,'  says 
he,  '  you  come  from  Ireland^  I  suppose  ?  '  '  Yes  sir,'  I  replied, 
'  some  days  ago.'  '  Ah,  ah,  your  tongue  betrays  that  sufficiently. 
Who  is  your  father  ?  '  '  Tiberius  Nugenius  of  Gosfield^  Sir '  : 
'  who  told  you  that,  boy  ?  you  must  be  mistaken,  that  gentleman 
informs  me  otherwise '  :  *  I  was  always  esteemed  as  such  in 
Ireland^  both  by  his  relations  and  my  mother's ' ;  *  all  lies,  all 
lies,'  said  he  with  a  smile,  and  pouring  out  a  glass  of  wine,  '  come 
drink,  I  suppose  you  can  drink  ;  if  Tiberius  is  your  father  you 
can  drink.' — after  I  had  drank,  '  if  you  are  the  person  you  say, 
and  that  I  came  to  enquire  after,  you  have  the  mark  of  a  deep 
scar,  occasion'd  by  a  burn,  on  the  left  side  your  belly ' ;  which 
was  no  sooner  said,  than  pulling  me  to  him,  he  took  out  my  shirt, 
and  having  seen  the  distinguishing  characteristic,  '  it  is  all  right,' 
said  he  ;  and  after  a  considerable  pause,  ordered  me  to  ring  the 
bell. 

"  The  landlord  coming  up,  '  do  you  know  me,'  was  asked  ? 
'  No,  Sir,'  '  what,'  says  he,  '  dont  you  know  esquire  Forbes  of 
Dover-street  f '  '  Though  I  know  the  street  very  well,  I  cannot 
say  I  have  knowledge  of  any  such  gentleman  ' ;  '  well,'  says  he, 
calling  him  aside,  in  a  whisper  loud  enough  for  me  to  hear,  '  my 
name  is  Nugenius^  but  for  some  private  reasons  do  not  chose  the 
youth  should  be  made  acquainted  with  it  as  just  yet,'  then  raising 
his  voice,  and  at  the  same  time  drawing  out  his  purse,  '  here, 
landlord,'  said  he, '  is  some  money,  do  you  procure  the  youth  some 
cloths,  more  suitable  to  appear  in,  than  what  are  on  his  back ;  I 
shall  call  again  in  a  few  days,  and  satisfy  you  for  your  trouble,  in 
the  meantime  as  I  have  no  further  occasion  for  you,  you  are  at 
liberty  to  go  down  stairs.' 

"  When  left  to  ourselves,  addressing  himself  to  me,  *  have  you 
brought  along  with  you  no  letters  from  your  mother  and  friends 
in  Ireland  f^  '  none.  Sir,'  I  replied,  'excepting  a  certificate  of  my 
birth,  wrote  by  my  mother '  ;  which  I  no  sooner  produced,  than 
he  snatched  it  from  me,  and  with  an  air  of  seeming  indifference, 
not  without  symptoms  of  anger,  tore  it  to  pieces,  saying,  '  as  this 
idle  paper  will  be  of  no  use  but  to  exasperate  Nugenius  against 
you,  think  me  your  friend  in  destroying  it ;   be  cautious  what  you 


320  BIOGRAPHICAL   MEMOIRS 

say,  and  expect  to  hear  more  in  a  little  time  ' ;  which  was  no 
sooner  said,  than  he  went  away,  and  left  me  to  reflect  upon  my 
melancholy  situation. 

"  Some  days  after  this,  one  Mr.  Bristow^  a  perriwig  maker  in 
St.  Jlbans-Street,  came  to  the  inn,  with  orders  from  my  father 
to  discharge  the  small  arrears  due  to  the  landlord,  and  take  me 
along  with  him  to  his  own  house  :  I  soon  found  that  it  had  been 
determined  that  this  Bristow  should  take  me  as  an  apprentice  ; 
and  was  to  receive  as  a  premium  at  my  being  bound,  fifty  pounds, 
for  initiating  me  in  the  profound  art,  and  mysteries,  of  which  he 
was  a  professor. 

"  Conscious  my  own  abilities  would  never  let  me  attain  to  the 
degree  of  an  adept,  in  this  noble  science,  and  after  some  days  spent 
at  the  powder  tub,  I  with  great  difficulty  prevail'd  upon  my 
father,  to  extricate  me  out  of  the  suds,  and  rather  than  compel 
me  to  depend  upon  so  mean  a  business  for  my  future  subsistence, 
a  business  so  much  inferior  to  the  rank  and  character  of  both  my 
parents,  as  well  as  my  education  ;  to  give  me  the  liberty  of  serving 
his  majesty  on  board  one  of  his  ships  of  war,  tho'  it  were  in  the 
meanest  capacity,  I  was  the  more  emboldened  to  ask  this  favour, 
as  such  a  proposal  had  been  made  me  some  time  before. 

"  This  request  of  mine  with  seeming  reluctance,  at  length  was 
granted  :  the  station  procur'd  me,  though  no  greater  than  that  of 
captain's  servant,  as  it  was  the  gift  of  my  generous  father,  I 
cheerfully  accepted  of.  In  which  capacity,  I  sometime  afterwards 
embarked  on  board  his  majesty's  ship  the  Windsor  of  sixty  guns, 
capt.  Thomas  Hannaway  commander,  not  in  the  least  doubting 
from  my  father's  affluent  fortune  I  should  in  every  respect  be 
suitably  equip'd  for  the  service  I  was  now  engaged  in. 

"  With  this  persuasion  I  took  leave  of  my  father,  who  as  a  fresh 
proof  of  his  affection,  sent  me  by  the  hands  of  his  valet,  one 
Christopher  Cannon^  a  present  of  five  shillings,  no  doubt  to 
bear  my  expences  down  to  Plymouth  in  the  same  proportion,  he 
extended  his  liberality  to  my  sea-chest,  which  not  being  stored 
with  one  half  the  compliment  usual  on  such  occasions,  would 
have  proved  quite  insufficient,  had  it  not  been  for  the  generosity 
and  kindness  of  the  captain,  who,  out  of  compassion,  ordered  his 
own  taylor  to  furnish  me  with  what  was  wanting. 

"  During  the  short  time  I  was  on  the  watery  element,  I  had 
twice  the  pleasure  of  seeing  my  country  triumph  in  her  native 
ocean,  being  present  at  the  destruction  of  two  French  fleets  in  the 
same  year,  the  first  by  those  experienced  commanders.  Lord  Jnson 
and  Sir  Peter  Warren^  and  the  second,  by  the  never  too  much 
esteemed  and  gallant  admiral  Hawke, 


ROBERT   NUGENT,  JUNIOR  321 

"  As  the  defeat  of  those  fleets,  and  the  capture  of  so  many  fine 
ships,  the  distress  of  the  Gallich^  and  the  glory  of  the  British 
flag,  in  that  remarkable  year,  cannot  be  unknown  to  any  of  my 
readers,  I  shall  set  aside  giving  any  account  of  those  glorious 
actions,  and  proceed  to  myself. 

"  On  my  return  to  England^  at  the  conclusion  of  the  late 
general  peace,  being  discharged  from  my  ship,  and  desirous  of 
giving  the  most  early  testimonies  of  my  duty  and  obedience,  I 
waited  upon  my  father,  and  presented  him  with  my  letter  of 
attorney,  to  receive  my  prize  money,  which  amounted  to  a  con- 
siderable sum,  and  frequently  on  my  future  visits,  humbly  entreated 
him  to  make  some  other  provision  for  me. 

"  Some  time  after,  my  father  informed  me,  he  had  procured  me 
a  berth,  in  the  honourable  East-India  company,  which  he' called 
a  lieutenant  of  an  India  craft,  and  upon  which  station  I  was 
immediately  to  enter,  but  several  circumstances  which  had  lately 
occurred,  giving  me  no  small  room  to  suspect  the  integrity  of  my 
father's  intentions,  and  strongly  pointing  out  to  me,  the  necessity 
of  the  greatest  circumspection  :  I  had  recourse  to  the  advice  of 
friends,  who  recommended  it  to  me,  to  enquire  into  the  nature  of 
such  a  station,  and  the  reality  of  my  father's  having  procured  it 
for  me. 

"  According  I  made  application  to  some  gentleman  in  the  India 
Honse^  and  quickly  found  the  prudence  of  such  precaution ;  being 
informed,  I  was  to  be  enrolled  by  the  fictitious  name  of  Thomas 
Plunkett^  and  in  no  other  station,  than  that  of  Captain's  servant 
as  before,  the  astonishment  of  so  dark  a  design  in  my  own  father, 
I  may  justly  say,  needs  no  description  ;  for  what  had  I  not  to 
apprehend,  from  so  suspicious  a  circumstance  :  but,  alas  !  this  was 
only  the  prologue  to  such  scenes  of  inhumanity,  as  no  christian 
ear  can  hear  without  amazement,  or  story  parallel.  The  strange 
name  of  Plunkett  occasion'd  the  greatest  confusion  in  my  breast, 
a  name  I  had  never  assumed,  but  on  the  contrary  was  an  utter 
stranger  to,  except  so  far  as  knowing  it  to  be  the  maiden  name  of 
my  father's  first  lady.  However,  I  resolved  to  conceal  my  appre- 
hensions as  much  as  possible,  and  only  express  my  aversion  to  the 
voyage,  and  in  the  most  humble  manner  entreated,  he  would  be 
pleased  to  make  some  other  provision  for  me,  but  finding  my 
father  inflexible  in  his  resolution,  and  that  I  could  promise  myself 
but  small  success  from  my  intreaties,  I  plainly  acquainted  him 
with  the  discovery  I  had  made  at  the  India-House^  and  the 
information  I  had  from  thence  received.  Stung  at  the  discovery, 
and  looking  upon  his  designs,  at  least  for  that  time  frustrated,  he 
burst  out  into  the  extremist  rage,  denounced  vengeance  against  me, 

Y 


322  BIOGRAPHICAL   MEMOIRS 

for  my  disobedience  as  he  termed  it,  banished  me  his  presence,  and 
charged  me  to  approach  him,  or  his  house  no  more  at  my  peril  ! 

"  As  soon  as  I  was  recover'd  from  the  confusion  this  hard  sen- 
tence plunged  me  in,  I  besought  him  to  let  me  have  part  of  my 
prize  money,  for  my  subsistance,  but  that,  this  inexorable  parent 
also  denied,  alledging  it  was  insuficient  to  repay  the  expences,  he 
had  been  at,  in  bringing  me  up  :  thus  in  a  moment  surrounded 
with  penury  and  distress,  without  parent,  without  friend,  exposed 
to  the  wide  world,  beset  with  ills,  covered  with  misfortunes,  and 
drove  bv  a  torrent  of  despair  ;  what  could  I  do  ?  I  had  heard  that 
his  late  roval  highness  the  Prince  of  TVales^  tho'  placed  in  too 
exalted  a  sphere  to  be  acquainted  with  the  common  calamities  and 
distresses  of  human  nature,  was  possessed  of  a  heart  susceptible  of 
every  tender  impression,  and  a  ready  hand  always  stretch'd  out  to 
raise  up  affliction  from  the  dust,  or  succour  with  liberal  bounty  the 
pangs  of  unmerited  distress;  to  him,  my  father  being  then  steward 
of  his  household,  I  determined  most  humbly  to  address  myself, 
and  lay  the  detail  of  my  sorrows  at  his  feet,  which  I  accordingly 
did,  when  his  most  royal  highness,  upon  enquiry  into  the  truth  of 
my  case,  was  most  graciously  pleased  to  order  me  an  immediate 
supply,  and  also  condescended  to  lay  his  commands  on  my  father, 
to  provide  for  me  as  in  duty  he  ought.  But  my  father  was  so 
greatly  incensed  at  this  application,  that  regardless  of  his  royal 
injunctions,  he  was  now  resolved  to  set  no  bounds  to  his  persecution. 

"  I  lodged  at  the  George  Inn  in  the  Hay-Market^  when 
early  one  morning,  who  should  pay  me  a  visit  but  my  quondam 
friend  the  perriwig-maker ;  a  man  dedicated  to  my  father's  pur- 
poses, and  made  use  of  by  him,  as  an  instrument  to  execute  his 
unnatural  designs  upon  his  own  child.  This  humane  gentleman, 
covering  his  fraudulent  intent  under  the  cloak  of  friendship,  after 
passing  the  common  salutation,  told  me  the  purpose  of  his  coming 
was  to  acquaint  me,  that  Tiberius  in  person  intended  to  call  upon 
me  at  eleven,  and  that  he  certainly  had  something  in  view,  very 
advantageous  to  my  interest,  which  would  then  be  communicated, 
so  desired  me  not  to  be  absent  at  the  time  appointed :  highly 
animated  with  so  uncommon  a  mark  of  my  father's  kindness,  my 
bosom  glowed  with  gratitude,  and  I  ardently  wished  for  the  hour 
that  would  permit  me  at  his  feet  to  implore  his  pity,  and  ask  his 
benediction  ;  the  long  expected  hour  at  length  arrived,  and  every 
moment  increased  my  anxiety ;  the  rapturous  tumult  which 
agitated  my  mind,  at  the  hopes  of  meeting,  so  unexpectedlv  meet- 
ing, a  kind  relenting  parent,  far  exceeds  the  description  of  the 
most  fervent  pen,  and  nothing  but  the  indelible  characters  which 
nature   hath  stamped  upon  the  human  soul,  can  possibly  give  a 


ROBERT   NUGENT,  JUNIOR  323 

true  idea  of.  As  I  sat  in  mv  window,  with  a  soul  full  of  expect- 
ation, my  heart  rebounded  at  the  sound  of  every  coach,  and  my 
eyes  were  attentively  fix'd  upon  the  remotest  chair  m  view  ;  the 
sound  of  a  person  enquiring  for  Nugenius  at  length  struck  my 
ears:  I  hurried  down  stairs,  and  the  si2:ht  of  a  sreat  bluff  fellow, 
with  an  iron  countenance,  struck  an  immediate  damp  all  over  me ; 
'  where  is  the  gentleman  r  '  '  that  is  Nugenius^  was  answered 
from  the  barr,  ^  then.  Sir,  I  have  some  business  with  you,  a  letter, 
Sir  ; '  and  calling  me  into  the  entry  ;  '  a  gentleman  whom  you 
claim  a  near  relation  to,'  says  he,  with  a  gastly  smile,  '  sends  you 
this  letter,'  which  drawing  forth  from  a  greasy  pocket  book,  he 
added  ;  '  is  without  farther  ceremony  neither  more  nor  less  than  a 
warrant ;  you  must  go  along  with  me  this  instant  before  justice 
Fielding''  ;  incapable  of  answering,  I  was  dragged  through  the 
publick  streets  in  an  inhuman  manner,  to  the  magistrates  house  in 
Bow-street^  Co-vent  Garden ;  the  justice  was  no  sooner  informed 
of  my  being  there,  than  a  messenger  was  sent  to  acquaint  my 
father,  who  immediately  attended  ;  on  his  arrival,  I  was  directly 
ordered  in,  which  order  was  countermanded  till  a  conference  was 
ended,  which  my  father  had  desired  ;  at  length  being  ordered 
admittance,  I  was  thus  addressed  by  his  worship  : — 

'' '  How  come  you.  Sir,  to  be  troublesome  to  this  gentleman  ?  ' 
in  the  midst  of  my  confusion  I  replied,  *  he  was  my  father,  and 
hope  he  will  be  kind  enough  to  do  something  for  me,  so  far  as  to 
relieve  me  from  my  present  distress ' ;  whereupon  my  father  turn- 
ing short  to  the  justice,  he  said,  '  Sir,  'twill  be  better  to  send  the 
fellow  to  Bridewell,  than  be  troubled  with  his  impertinence  ; ' 
terrified  with  the  dread  of  a  prison,  I  fell  on  my  knees  and  offered 
to  comply  with  anything  that  should  be  proposed ;  my  father  then 
applying  himself  to  Mr.  Fielding,  said,  ^  I  am  eternally  teased 
both  in  public  and  in  private  about  him  ;  and  never  shall  be  at 
ease,  till  he  is  locked  up  ; '  adding  in  the  most  unbecoming  lan- 
guage, '  those  B — ch's  of  Quality,  either  feel  for  him,  or  pretend  to 
do  so,  to  such  a  degree  that  the  perpetual  laram  now  sounds  in 
my  ear ' ;  the  justice  casting  his  eyes  upon  me,  seeming  to  be 
mov'd,  expressed  some  signs  of  lenity  and  compassion  ;  and  the 
whole  tenour  of  my  father's  actions  towards  me,  which  encoura2:ed 
by  him,  I  gave  a  full  account  of,  appearing  perfectly  cruel  and 
inhuman,  not  only  he,  but  several  other  gentlemen  then  present, 
generously  became  intercessors  with  my  father  in  my  behalf, 
whereupon  he  proposed  giving  me  ten  pounds,  upon  condition  I 
should  go  instantly  to  Ireland,  where  he  agreed  to  remit  me  the 
same  sum  annually,  for  four  years  to  come,  but  that  I  should  in 
their  presence  execute  a  bond  for  the  whole  fifty  pounds  ;  to  this 


324  BIOGRAPHICAL   MEMOIRS 

I  agreed,  received  the  ten  pounds,  and  executed  the  bond  in  the 
penalty  of  one  hundred  pounds,  with  a  special  covenant  for  my 
immediate  departure,  which  when  I  signed  Nugenius^  he  struck  out, 
and  obHged  me  to  sign  by  the  feigned  name  of  Thomas  Plunkett^ 
though  the  justice  was  kind  enough  to  remonstrate  with  him  upon 
that  head,  by  reason  that  the  warrant  had  been  filled  up  with 
Nugenius^  but  in  vain. 

"  Being  by  this  means  delivered  from  the  warrant ;  pursuant  to 
the  engagement  in  a  few  days  I  embarked  for  Ireland^  com- 
forting myself  with  the  hopes  of  a  better  fortune,  and  that  by 
my  industry  and  application  in  some  business  or  other,  I  might 
be  able  to  secure  a  decent  support,  the  aforesaid  allowance  had 
it  been  paid  me,  being  barely  sufficient  to  keep  me  from  starving. 

"  On  my  arrival  in  Ireland^  I  immediately  addressed  myself 
to  all  those,  from  whose  generosity  or  compassion  I  could  hope 
the  least  favour  or  assistance,  informed  them  of  my  earnest  desire 
of  entering  into  some  business,  and  it  was  no  small  consolation 
to  me,  to  find  my  intentions  approved,  and  amongst  others,  the 
honourable  colonel  MacGuire,  a  relation  of  my  mother's,  assisted 
me  in  a  particular  manner,  to  get  the  better  of  my  misfortunes, 
by  procuring  me  a  handsome  largess  from  my  mother ;  which  out 
of  his  own  bounty  he  increased  to  a  sum  of  thirty  pounds. 

"  I  had  likewise  about  this  time,  the  happiness  of  meeting  with 
my  old  friend,  Mr.  Bond,  at  the  Globe  Coffee-House  in  Essex- 
street^  Dublin^  whose  humane  regards  to  me  I  can  never  sufficiently 
acknowled2:e,  to  whom  I  related  the  barbarous  treatment  I  had 
meti  with  in  London^  which  he  heard  not  without  amazement. 
By  his  advice,  I  made  it  my  business  to  look  for  a  shop,  properly 
situated  for  the  sale  of  groceries  in  Dame-street. 

"I  soon  found  one  fit  for  the  purpose.  I  acquainted  Mr.  Bond 
therewith,  who  was  so  kind  as  to  recommend  me  to  the  notice 
of  Mr.  Brennan^  a  merchant  in  Aung'ier-street :  the  money  I 
now  was  possessed  of  amounting  through  the  bounty  of  Mr.  Bond, 
to  almost  forty  pounds,  was  laid  out  in  repairing  the  shop,  and 
the  remaining  part  was  expended  in  purchasing  my  stock,  Mr. 
Brennan  generously  giving  me  credit  for  as  much  more. 

"  Being  thus  placed  behind  my  compter,  my  thoughts  began 
to  stream  in  a  different  current:  I  flattered  myself,  by  an  assiduous 
application  to  my  business,  I  might  acquire  a  comfortable  support, 
not  doubting  but  absence,  and  the  insignificant  charge  I  should 
now  be  to  my  father,  was  he  to  perform  his  engagements  in  the 
annual  allowance,  might  rid  me  of  all  apprehensions  for  the  future, 
of  farther  cruelties  from  his  hands;  and  who  would  not  have 
entertained  the  same  opinion  ?  but  how  insatiable  is  a  persecuting 


ROBERT   NUGENT,  JUNIOR  325 

spirit :  no  testimonies  of  an  industrious  disposition,  nor  the  laudable 
desire  of  endeavouring,  by  assiduously  prosecuting  the  business  of 
my  little  shop,  to  be  capable  of  supporting  myself,  could  protect 
me  from  my  father's  restless  malice,  which  now  began  its  rapid 
progress. 

"  About  three  weeks  after  I  was  settled  in  business,  two  ill 
looking  men  came  into  my  shop,  and  asking  for  some  brandy, 
were  no  sooner  serv^ed,  than  one  of  them  said,  *  I  suppose.  Sir, 
your  name  is  Nugenius.^  I  answered  in  the  affirmative.  ^  I  shall 
make  bold  to  chano;e  it  then  by  virtue  of  a  writ '  which  beine 
immediately  produced,  struck  me  with  such  amazement  that  I 
lost  the  use  of  speech  for  some  time  :  '  You  don't  know  one 
Tiberius  Magnus^  continued  he,  at  the  same  time  pointing  to 
where  the  name  was  wrote,  '  nor  vou  don't  remember  the  fifty 
pounds  you  borrowed  and  then  ran  away  with.  No,  no,  you 
don't  remember  all  this,  to  be  sure  \ '  I  answered,  '  I  hope, 
gentlemen,  my  father  did  not  order  you  to  abuse  me  in  the 
execution  of  your  office ; '  ^  arrah  by  my  shoul,  but  you  are  not 
your  father's  son,'  wisely  returned  the  other,  '  for  your  name  is 
Plunkett^  but  what  matters  all  this  jaw,  come  along,  come  along 
to  your  new  lodging.'  I  entreated  earnestly  for  a  few  minutes 
to  secure  my  books  and  shut  up  my  shop,  but  was  in  most  abusive 
language  denied,  one  of  the  inhumane  catchpoles  seizing  me  by  the 
collar,  would  not  permit  me  even  to  take  what  little  money  1  had 
in  my  till,  but  dragged  me  without  ceremonie,  to  that  mansion  of 
wretchedness,  the  Black  Dog  Prison ;  the  bond  which  I  executed 
before  the  justice  in  London^  being  the  instrument  made  use  of  to 
lodge  me  in  this  dismal  place,  it  having  been  in  Dublin  as  long  as 
myself. 

"  Resolved  to  act  with  the  utmost  honour  I  directly  sent  an 
account  to  Mr.  Brennan  the  merchant,  of  the  sad  reverse  in  my 
affairs,  desiring  he  would  sell  all  my  effects,  pay  himself  the  sum 
he  had  so  kindly  gave  me  credit  for,  and  return  the  balance  to 
me;  all  which  he  performed,  and  justly  accounted  with  me,  nor 
did  his  favours  stop  here,  for  I  daily  experienced  them  during  my 
confinement. 

"Eight  months  did  I  pass  awav  in  this  goal,  liberty  appearing  in 
the  same  point  of  view  as  at  first,  abandoned  by  my  relations, 
I  had  almost  said  by  hope  itself  the  last  resource  of  wretchedness, 
and  in  the  most  destitute  and  abject  condition ;  when  it  pleased 
Almighty  Goodness  to  look  down  upon  my  distress,  and  to  take 
away  from  the  weight  of  my  oppression,  by  inspiring  the  hearts 
of  a  noble  earl,  and  an  honourable  lady,  to  compassionate  my 
sufferings,  and  extricate  me  from  this  abyss  of  misery;  in  short. 


326  BIOGRAPHICAL   MEMOIRS 

they  most  generously  enabled  me  to  give  bail  for  the  action,  of 
which  intention,  I  no  sooner  gave  notice  of,  according  to  the  due 
course  of  the  law,  to  Mr.  Brady  the  attorney,  culled  out  by  my 
father  as  most  proper  to  conduct  these  proceedings,  O  might  the 
gain  of  such  honour  be  the  only  reward  of  such  pains :  but  he 
the  more  effectually  to  recommend  himself  to  his  employer,  by 
further  oppressing  the  oppressed,  charged  me  with  a  second  action, 
of  one  hundred  pounds,  being  the  penalty  of  the  said  bond, 
wickedly  imagining  though  I  might  find  bail  for  fifty,  I  could  not 
for  a  hundred  and  fifty;  but  this  was  too  flagrant  an  instance  ot 
cruelty  to  deter  my  generous  friends  from  their  charitable  design, 
who  persisting  in  their  compassionate  resolutions,  I  was  at  length 
by  their  means,  once  more  restored  to  liberty. 

"About  two  davs  after  my  release  from  confinement,  I 
accidentally  met  my  father's  agent  at  the  Globe  Coffee-House 
in  Dublin^  with  whom  I  remonstrated  on  my  father's  pro- 
ceedings against  me,  the  unparalell'd  cruelty  of  barbarously  and 
unjustly  throwing  me  into  a  goal,  when  I  was  in  a  capacity 
genteely  to  have  supported  myself,  without  any  further  appli- 
cation to  him ;  and  bv  being  then,  though  out  of  prison,  still 
destitute  of  every  means  of  support. 

"  This  gentleman,  seeing  me  at  liberty,  and  sensible  should  I 
contest  that  bond,  on  which  I  had  been  detained,  I  should 
certainly  succeed,  and  imagining  he  could  not  more  easily  gain 
my  father's  esteem  (being  no  stranger  to  his  cruel  disposition) 
than  by  displaying  his  art  in  contriving  some  further  means  ot 
oppressing  me,  hit  upon  the  following  method;  he  affected  a  great 
concern  at  my  sufferings,  and  made  a  voluntary  offset  of  his  utmost 
sersnces,  confessed  the  treatment  I  had  met  with  was  realy  very 
hard,  and  expressed  an  inclination  to  assist  me  with  a  sum  ot 
money,  could  he  but  form  to  himself  a  probability  of  being  repaid, 
and  at  length  said  he  would  venture  to  advance  me  ten  pounds, 
and  run  the  risque.  But  I  replied,  that  sum  would  be  of  no  service 
to  me;  that  I  owed  some  small  matters  which  I  was  desirous 
of  paying,  and  intended  to  embark  for  Bristol,  in  order  to  entreat 
the  advice  and  assistance  of  my  brother  Tiberinus  Nugenius^ 
who  I  heard  was  then  there ;  I  was  likewise  in  great  want  of 
aparrel ;  therefore  less  than  twenty  pounds  would  not  answer  my 
ends ;  with  little  persuasion,  this  generous  and  humane  gentleman 
complied,  instigated  by  the  father  of  hypocrisy  and  lies,  artfully 
to  conceal  under  the  cloak  of  humanity,  designs  of  the  blackest 

^  Col.  Edmund  Nugent,  Robert  Nugent's  son  by  Emilia,  daughter 
of  the  Earl  of  Fingal. 


ROBERT   NUGENT,  JUNIOR  327 

nature ;  not  suspecting  his  diabolical  intentions,  and  labouring 
under  the  greatest  anxiety  of  mind,  as  well  as  the  most  pinching 
necessity,  I  was  induced  to  accept  this  pernicious  offer,  and 
executed  a  bond  for  the  same,  in  which  was  inserted  a  penalty 
of  one  thousand  pounds ;  this  bond  he  immediately  transmitted 
to  my  father  in  England^  to  be  ready  for  the  intended  purpose  of 
immuring  me  again  in  prison  at  his  pleasure. 

"  Having  received  this  money,  paid  my  few  debts,  and  provided 
mvself  with  some  necessaries,  I  embarked  for  the  city  of  BrhtoL 
and  on  my  arrival  there,  I  waited  on  my  brother,  to  whom  I 
related  my  sufferings,  and  intreated  his  good  offices  with  my 
father,  for  obtaining  me  a  restoration  to  his  favour,  not  being 
conscious  of  having  forfeited  it  any  otherwise,  than  by  declining 
his  proposal  to  go  to  the  East  Indies^  and  by  petitioning  his  royal 
highness,  the  Prince  of  JVales^  in  my  great  distress,  and  if  these 
were  crimes,  they  were  such  only  as  real  distress  had  occasioned, 
though  I  had  been  persecuted  for  them  with  relentless  fury ; 
therefore  earnestly  hoped  a  brother's  sufferings  would  meet  pity, 
— but  alas  !  how  greatly  was  I  disappointed  ;  pity  and  compassion 
were  banished  his  breast,  and  his  behaviour  proved  him  an  intire 
stranger  to  the  common  principles  of  humanity. 

"  Our  first  meeting  was  attended  with  pretty  high  words  ;  how- 
ever, he  at  length  condescended  so  far  as  to  bid  me  call  on  him 
the  next  day  ;  accordingly  in  the  morning  I  waited  upon  him. 

"  He  sent  for  me  up  stairs,  being  yet  in  bed,  though  the  sun  had 
already  gained  his  highest  ascent ;  he  threw  open  the  curtains, 
and  I  was  immediately  complimented  with  '  how  come  you,  Sir, 
to  be  troublesome  so  early  ? '  'I  thought.  Sir,  you  ordered  me  to 
wait  upon  you  this  morning  ; '  '  what  if  I  did,'  says  he,  '  is  that 
a  reason  why  you  should  hunt  me  before  I  am  out  of  bed,  what 
do  you  want,  what  do  you  plague  me  for  r '  *  Sir,'  I  replied, 
*  setting  aside  the  ties  of  affinity,  which  you  are  pleased  to  deny, 
though  all  the  rhetorick  you  are  master  of  will  never  be  able 
to  overpower  truth,  or  persuade  the  world  one  man  is  not  our 
father  ;  let  the  force  of  humanity  plead  for  me,  stand  betwixt 
me  and  my  father's  anger,  mitigate  his  wrath,  and  let  me  not  be 
tost  about  the  world  destitute  of  support,  and  have  no  place  to  lay 
my  head  ;  if  not  to  me,  be  just  at  least  to  your  father  and  your- 
self ;  prevent  the  world  from  censuring.'  I  was  proceeding  in  this 
manner,  but  was  interrupted  with,  '  no  methodist  sermon,  no 
preaching  :  Oon's,  what  would  the  man  have  ? '  '  What  is  not.  Sir, 
in  your  power  to  give,  humane  usage  ; '  'I  think  I  am  over- 
stocked both  with  humanity  and  patience,  to  hear  a  detail  of  such 
stuff;  but  I  suppose  the  truth  is  you  come  upon  the  old  errand 


328  BIOGRAPHICAL   MEMOIRS 

you  have  so  often  seized  my  father  with  ;  money,  friend,  money  : 
now  for  a  modest  request,  how  much  want  you  ?  '  *  Sir,  it  is  too 
true,  I  have  no  money  to  carry  me  up  to  London^  what  you  think 
proper  for  that  purpose,  will  do  me  at  present  the  greatest  service.* 
'  Tom^  give  him  pen  and  ink  ;  write  a  receipt,  friend  ; '  'for  what 
sum.  Sir  r '  '  stay  now,  I  think  better  of  it,  I  will  do  it  myself, 
give  me  the  paper  ; '  he  wrote  upon  the  pillow,  and  delivered  it 
to  me  to  sign  ;  I  read  as  follows,  '  I  promise  to  pay  to  Tiberinus 
NugeniuSy  or  order,  on  demand,  the  sum  of  one  guinea  for  value 
received  : '  I  took  no  notice  of  this  amazing  sum,  but  cooly  taking 
up  the  pen,  set  my  name  to  the  paper,  then  taking  up  the  piece 
betwixt  my  finger  and  thumb,  I  said,  '  this,  sir,  I  shall  take  care 
to  preserve  as  a  perpetual  memorandum  of  paternal  affection,  and 
to  what  an  excess  of  liberality  the  force  of  humanity  is  capable 
of  ur2;in2;  such  a  tender  hearted  man  as  my  brother  Tiberinus ;' 
I  said  no  more,  but  turning  short,  left  the  room  without  any 
further  ceremony. 

"  He  wrote  an  account  to  my  father  in  London^  by  the  next  post, 
of  my  being  in  Bristol^  and  the  usage  he  had  met  with  from  me, 
the  bond  he  had  received  from  Ireland  was  immediately  trans- 
mitted to  TiberinuSj  with  a  writ  thereupon  against  me  in  the 
penalty  of  one  thousand  pounds,  on  non  payment ;  and  the  cup 
of  my  afflictions  not  being  by  him  thought  full  enough,  another 
goal  was  now  to  be  my  portion  ;  but  as  if  by  being  conducted  to 
prison  in  the  ordinary  manner  was  not  enough  to  satisfy  the  most 
implacable  malice,  my  good  brother,  willing  to  recommend  himself 
to  my  father  by  some  distinguishing  act  of  inhumanity,  con- 
descended to  perform  the  office  of  a  bailiff's  setter,  in  the  following 
manner  :  a  few  mornings  after  our  aforesaid  conference  ;  as  I 
was  walking  solitarily  towards  the  Hot-TVells^  musing  upon  my 
melancholy  situation,  I  unexpectedly  met  in  the  road  my  evil 
genius  ;  he  checked  his  reins  upon  sight  of  me,  and  called  me  to 
him.  '  Hark  you.  Sir,'  says  he,  '  meet  me  at  the  breakfasting  room, 
about  ten  o'clock  to-morrow,  and  you  shall  hear  something  to 
your  advantage  ;  be  sure  you  fail  not  being  there  at  the  time, 
because  I  am  obliged  to  attend  business  in  another  place  before 
eleven  ; '  I  promised  to  be  punctual,  and  he  spurred  on. 

"  The  next  morning  I  failed  not  my  appointment,  where  I  met 
him  according  to  promise ;  he  retired  along  with  me  into  a  private 
room,  and  called  for  two  dishes  of  coffee  ;  the  discourse  at  length 
setling  upon  the  old  affair,  his  base  innuendoes,  and  indecent 
reflections  on  my  mother,  compelled  some  warm  words  from  me  ; 
seeming  stung  with  the  smartness  of  one  of  my  answers,  he  took 
the  opportunity  of  rising  up,  and   striking   the  table  with   great 


ROBERT   NUGENT,  JUNIOR  329 

violence,  in  an  elevated  voice,  said,  ^  then,  you  rascal,  if  nothing 
can  tame  vou,  but  confinement,  you  shall  have  sufficient  of  it,'  at 
which  instant  the  door  opening,  Mr.  Rhodes  the  bailiff  attended 
by  one  of  his  followers  came  in,  and  laid  hold  of  me  ;  several 
gentlemen  who  were  in  the  adjacent  rooms,  upon  hearing  the 
bustle  we  now  made,  entered  our  apartment,  and  enquiring  into 
the  cause  of  the  disturbance,  my  brother  replied,  '  an  insolent 
rascal  I  have  laid  by  the  heels  for  a  small  action  of  a  thousand 
pounds,  is  become  obstreperous  ;  take  the  fellow  away,  officer,  take 
him  awav.'  ^  Fve  fve,'  said  a  gentleman,  which  if  I  rightly  re- 
member, was  Mr.  Crosby  addressing  himself  to  my  brother,  *  if 
you  won't  relieve  the  poor  young  fellow,  don't  use  him  in  this 
barbarous  manner  ; '  '  tell  me  not,  Sir,  of  barbarity,  the  villain  ought 
to  be  gibbited  alive,  for  imposing  himself  upon  the  public  as  mv 
brother ; '  '  brother  or  not  brother,  he  is  your  very  picture  bv 
G — d,'  returned  Mr.  Crosby^  '  and  I  would  at  least  have  so  much 
regard  for  a  glass  that  represented  me  in  such  perfection,  as  not  tO" 
destroy  it ; '  'you  are  at  will  to  jest,  Mr.  Crosby^  as  much  as  you 
please,  but  I  have  my  father's  express  commands  for  what  I  do, 
and  sink  me,  but  to  goal  he  shall  go,  should  all  the  world 
interceed  for  him  ; '  '  but  in  what  light  must  the  public  look  upon 
vou,  Niigefiius,  if  you  descend  so  low  as  to  personate  the  vile 
character  of  a  bailiff's  follower  ?  '  said  one  Mr.  Lynch^  who  was 
now  one  of  the  crowd,  '  retrieve  this  false  step,  and  let  the  young 
man  go  about  his  business  ;  let  him  go,  officer  ; '  '  that.  Sir,  I  cannot 
do,'  said  Mr.  Rhodes^  who  had  hold  of  me  still,  '  but  if  Nugen'na 
says  the  word,  in  presence  of  all  these  worthy  gentlemen,  I  will 
with  the  greatest  pleasure  release  him,  and  ask  nothing  for  my 
trouble,  for  bv  G — d  the  writ  would  have  laid  dormant  in  my 
pocket  these  seven  years  had  not  he  compelled  me  to  do  my  office, 
bv  setting  the  man  himself: '  '  you  are  an  insolent  rascal,'  replied  my 
brother,  '  and  deserve  to  be  well  caned,' — '  the  rascal  you  mav  take 
to  yourself,  and  as  to  the  caning  part,  I  wish  you  had  courage  to 
attempt  it;'  during  this  altercation,  I  sat  drowned  in  tears,  con- 
fused, and  even  stupefied  at  the  sudden  stroke  ;  when  one  of  the 
gentlemen  coming  to  me,  kindlv  asked  me  if  I  had  any  money, 
which  I  answering  in  the  negative,  he  applied  himself  to  my 
compassionate  kinsman,  in  this  manner  j  *  Nugen'ms,  the  unhappy 
young  fellow  is  destitute  of  cash,  I  hope  you  intend  not  to  add  tcv 
your  inhumanitv,  bv  sending  him  pennvless  to  so  dismal  a  place  ; 
Mr.  Rhodes^  be  so  good  as  to  inform  the  young  gentleman,  what 
money  will  be  wanted  to  keep  the  poor  man  from  starving  ; '  'let 
him  starve  and  be  damn'd,'  was  returned, — '  and  without  money,' 
replies  the  officer,  '  starve  he  must,  and  worse  damn'd  he  cannot  be^ 


330  BIOGRAPHICAL   MEMOIRS 

than  when  he  finds  himself  at  his  entrance  into  prison,  surrounded 
by  a  group  of  meagre  wretches,  demanding  the  tribute  of  five 
shillings  for  what  they  call  garnish,  it  being  customary  to  make  a 
deposite  of  that  directly,  part  of  which  is  applied  to  the  purchase 
of  coals,  and  the  remainder  to  allay  the  drought  of  throats  seldom 
gratified  with  any  thing  superior  to  simple  element  ;  if  the 
money  is  not  paid,  he  certainly  undergoes  the  ceremony  of 
stripping,  and  is  left  to  starve  without  pity,  and  without  redress  ; 
neither  is  there  in  this  place  any  allowance  of  bread,  so  usual  in 
other  prisons.' 

"  The  standers  by  were  all  affected  with  a  sense  of  the  miseries 
I  was  doomed  to  suffer  :  no  entreaties  were  wanting,  but  all  in 
vain  ;  for  the  boisterous  sea  in  the  rage  of  hurricanes  might 
sooner  be  supplicated  to  listen  to  the  prayers  of  sinking  navigators 
than  this  inhuman  composition  of  pride,  cruelty  and  malice  be 
persuaded  to  turn  an  ear,  to  the  dictates  of  pity  and  compassion  ; 
the  gentlemen,  to  crown  all  their  favours,  generously  made  a 
collection  for  me,  to  which  this  humane  officer,  who  had  me  in 
his  charge,  contributed  half  a  guinea  ;  I  mention  this  with  more 
pleasure,  as  there  are  but  few  instances  of  such  humanity  to  be 
found  in  people  of  his  station  :  we  set  out  soon  after  for 
Gloucester,  where  I  was  resigned  up  the  following  evening  to  the 
care  of  Mr.  Benjamin  Hemmings^  keeper  of  the  castle. 

"Thus  the  reader  finds  me  once  more  plunged  in  the  horrors  of 
a  goal,  and  surrounded  with  circumstances  of  the  deepest  distress  ; 
for  after  the  consumption  of  the  small  sum  I  had  received  from 
the  benevolence  of  the  gentleman  at  the  Hot-Wells^  I  must 
inevitably  have  perished  for  want,  had  not  the  report  of  such 
unprecedented  cruelties  spread  itself  abroad,  and  excited  the 
compassion  of  the  benevolent  and  humane,  for  whose  benign 
regards,  I  here  must  humbly  beg  leave  to  return  my  most  grateful 
acknowledgments ;  impelled  by  a  sense  of  the  greatest  duty,  in 
silent  respect,  I  forbear  to  mention  here,  whose  elevated  rank  and 
dignity  strikes  with  awe,  and  whose  innumerable  virtues  attract  at 
once  the  love  and  respect  of  all  mankind  ;  not  under  the  same 
embarassment  to  the  rest  of  mv  generous  benefactors  Rowland 
P/Vz',  Esq  \  of  the  city  of  Gloucester^  for  his  frequent  favours,  and 
likewise  to  Mrs.  Owen^  a  lady  of  fortune  in  the  same  city,  who 
not  only  cloathed  me,  when  I  was  almost  naked,  and  preserved 
me  from  the  fangs  of  pinching  necessity,  but  became  a  generous 
intercessor  with  my  father,  in  my  behalf,  though  to  little  purpose. 

"The  eight  months  of  melancholy  wretchedness  I  spent  in  this 
place,  would  have  been  equal  in  distress,  to  what  I  experienced 
during    my    confinement    in    the    Black-Dog  prison    in    Dublin^ 


ROBERT   NUGENT,  JUNIOR  331 

had  not  an  accident  happened,  which  ingratiated  me  to  Mr. 
Hemmings  the  keeper  ;  the  felons  in  this  prison,  by  some  remisness 
in  the  legislature,  too  frequent  in  most  of  the  country  goals  in  this 
kingdom,  are  permitted  the  same  liberty  with  the  unhappy  people 
confined  for  debt,  and  the  benefit  of  the  same  vard  is  promiscuously 
enjoyed  by  both  in  the  day-time,  and  not  till  nine  in  the  evening 
are  they  locked  up  in  their  distinct  ward  ;  at  which  time  a  great 
brindled  mastiff,  a  constant  attendant  of  the  turnkey,  marches  in  a 
stately  manner  before  him,  with  the  massy  keys,  that  command 
the  entrance  of  those  infernal  mansions  held  in  his  fatal  jaws,  which 
his  master,  armed  with  a  great  oak  sapling,  when  arrived  at  the 
ponderous  door,  demands  the  suppliant  minister  to  deliver  up  ;  the 
necessary  duty  being  performed,  Cerberus  immediately  retires  to  his 
den,  and  his  master  to  rest. 

"  It  happened  one  evening,  the  felons  under  sentence  of  trans- 
portation, having  concerted  a  scheme  to  make  their  escape,  were 
then  about  to  put  it  in  execution,  to  which  purpose  several  had 
freed  themselves  from  their  fetters  :  their  intent  was  when  Bedal 
the  turnkey  came  at  the  lock-up  hour  to  secure  them,  to  knock 
him  down  with  the  billets,  (made  use  of  for  firing)  and  seize  upon 
the  keys;  a  dispute  arising  amongst  them,  just  at  the  critical 
moment,  and  increasing  to  high  words,  was  luckily  overheard  by 
some  of  the  debtors,  who  on  the  instant  came  and  acquainted  Mr. 
Bedal  of  the  same  ;  he  called  immediately  three  or  four  of  us  to 
his  assistance,  and  armed  with  cutlasses  and  bludgeons,  Cerberus 
alias  Lion  leading  the  van,  we  soon  quelled  the  desperate  villains, 
though  not  till  several  wounds  were  distributed  amongst  them, 
and  the  dog  seizing  one,  had  very  nigh  tore  out  his  throat. 

"  My  behaviour  in  this  action  recommended  me  to  the  favour  of 
Mr.  Hemmings^  who  industriously  applied  himself  to  do  me  all  the 
service  in  his  power,  would  frequently  indulge  me  with  a  walk  in 
his  bowling-green,  gained  me  the  notice  of  several  people  of  quality, 
and  whenever  greatly  distressed,  would  freely  advance  me  small 
sums  of  money. 

"  The  general  election  of  the  city  of  Bristol  now  approaching, 
my  father,  who  intended  to  appear  a  candidate,  apprehending  such 
a  scene  of  continued  tyranny  to  his  own  son,  would  by  no  means 
be  favourable  to  him,  in  so  critical  a  juncture  ;  and  not  caring  to 
have  his  unnatural  proceedings  laid  open  to  the  world,  thought  it 
necessary  to  change  his  plan,  and  instead  of  starving  me  in  a  prison, 
designed  now  to  transport  me. 

"  This  black  design,  through  the  merciful  interposition  of 
providence,  was  rendered  abortive  by  my  timely  escape  at  the  very 
juncture,  when  all  things  were  in  readiness  to  put  it  into  execution. 


332  BIOGRAPHICAL   MEMOIRS 

"A  bond  with  a  warrant  of  attorney,  to  confess  a  judgment  in 
the  penalty  of  six  hundred  and  twenty  pounds  payable  to  my 
father,  with  a  special  coyenant  to  indent  myself  to  go  abroad  for 
seyeral  years,  was  transmitted  by  Mr.  Cox  my  father's  London 
solicitor  to  Gloucester^  and  forwarded  to  me  in  that  castle  of 
famine,  with  a  generous  offer  of  my  liberty  once  more,  proyided 
I  would  execute  the  same,  by  the  fayourite  fictitious  name  of 
Thomas  Plunkett. 

"  This  was  but  cold  comfort,  being  still  uncertain  as  to  my 
destined  fate,  but  conscious  of  my  inabilities  to  cope  with  so 
powerful  an  adyersary,  and  wearied  of  being  thus  immured  in 
goals,  I  determined  to  get  my  liberty  at  any  rate,  and  as  soon  as 
possible  embrace  the  first  opportunity  of  making  my  escape  to 
France^  where  I  was  in  hopes  of  getting  introduced  to  a  near 
relation  of  my  mother's,  Ignatius  NugeniuSy  who  at  that  time 
commanded  in  the  French  king's  seryice,  as  a  general  of  horse,  to 
w^hom  I  proposed  relating  my  sufferings,  and  doubted  not  finding 
a  kind  reception,  or  at  least  an  asylum  from  the  persecuting  hand 
of  a  barbarous  parent. 

"  Accordingly,  I  acquiesced  with  the  proposal,  and  was  promised 
to  be  fitted  out  with  apparel  to  the  amount  of  ;f  25,  though  the 
only  articles  I  receiyed  was  a  coat  and  a  pair  of  breeches,  but  as 
it  was  judged  proper  to  haye  an  attorney  present  on  my  part,  in 
order  to  render  their  proceedings  the  more  effectual  in  law,  one 
Mr.  Driver,  a  gentleman  of  fair  character  in  that  profession, 
was  pitched  upon,  to  act  for  me  in  this  affair,  which  he  at  first 
strenuously  opposed,  declaring,  from  his  knowledge,-  it  was  a 
transaction  of  the  basest  kind. 

"  But  the  a^ent  on  behalf  of  my  father,  ur2;in2:  my  consent,  and 
putting  the  best  face  on  this  bad  cause,  at  length  found  means  to 
preyail  upon  him  to  do  it,  though  Mr.  Benjamin  Hemmings 
the  goaler  could  by  no  means  be  preyailed  upon  to  witness  what 
he  called  so  iniquitous  a  proceeding. 

"  By  this  means,  I  once  more  turned  my  back  on  a  prison, 
though  with  a  mind  totally  confused,  from  the  information  I  had 
receiyed,  of  the  plot  laid  for  me,  from  which  I  earnestly  besought 
the  merciful  disposer  of  all  eyents  to  deliyer  me. 

"  My  design  of  going  to  Ignatius  Nugenius,  I  had  inadyer- 
tently  communicated  to  my  brother,  who  from  the  malignity  of 
his  heart,  had  carefully  sent  word  of  it  to  my  father,  and  he,  sensible 
how  sreatly  all  my  mother's  family  resented  the  dishonour  he  had 
brought  upon  her  and  them,  which  had  expelled  him  Ireland^ 
could  by  no  means  relish  that  thought,  and  therefore  Irenius  Arrus, 
of  Bristol,   being  then  a  superior  magistrate  of  the  county,   was 


ROBERT   NUGENT,    JUNIOR  333 

■commissioned  to  prevent  my  intentions,  by  conducting  the  new- 
scheme  as  follows. 

"  After  I  had  signed  the  indenture,  in  which  I  bound  myself 
for  several  years  to  serve  one  capt.  MacKenzie^  who  was  only 
master  of  a  little  Maryland  trader,  and  being  possessed  of  no 
propertv  in  America^  could  not  have  any  other  view  of  making 
me  turn  out  to  his  profit,  than  bv  exposing  me  to  public  sale  j 
conscious  of  this,  I  made  it  my  study  to  elude  the  wicked  design. 

"  As  soon  as  I  was  discharged,  three  men  were  employed  to 
escort  me  to  Bristol^  where  the  moment  I  arrived,  I  was  to  be 
put  on  board,  and  without  farther  delay  conveyed  abroad  ;  these 
ruffians  were,  a  servant  belonging  to  Irenius  Arrus^  one  of  Mr. 
Wades^  my  father's  attorney  in  Bristol^  and  to  compleat  the  trium- 
virate, a  bailiff's  follower  :  attended  by  these  my  honourable 
guardians,  I  set  out  from  Gloucester. 

"  I  took  particular  care  that  my  behaviour  on  the  road  might 
be  such  as  to  give  no  suspicion,  that  the  villains  might  not  entertain 
any  apprehensions  whatever.  When  arrived  near  our  journey's  end, 
I  thought  it  proper  to  execute  my  design:  strict  orders,  as  I  had 
been  informed  by  some  friends  in  Gloucester^  had  been  given  to 
this  diabolical  crew,  to  encourage  me  in  drinking  as  much  as 
possible  J  aware  of  this  design,  I  made  it  my  endeavours  to  turn 
the  scales  upon  them,  which  with  a  little  art  I  affected. 

"  At  our  entrance  into  Bristol^  feigning  myself  very  sick, 
this  served  me  as  an  excuse  for  calling  at  the  Edi?iburgh  Castle^ 
a  house  I  had  formerly  been  acquainted  with;  as  soon  as  I  alighted, 
I  made  it  my  care  to  compleat  their  dose  ;  my  sickness  encreasing, 
I  desired  the  favour  of  laying  down  for  an  hour  or  two,  which 
they,  having  no  suspicion  of  my  design,  readily  granted:  when 
retired  to  my  chamber,  I  called  up  the  landlord,  and  related  to  him 
mv  unfortunate  situation;  he  was  so  honest,  though  employ'd  at 
this  time  in  keeping  open  house  for  my  father,  on  account  of  the 
ensuing  election,  as  to  say,  '  Sir,  I  have  no  charge  over  you,  so 
consequently  it  would  be  illegal  in  me  to  offer  to  detain  you,  my 
doors  are  open.' — I  took  the  hint,  and  slipping  down  stairs,  left  my 
guard  in  the  lurch,  and  with  the  utmost  expedition,  made  the  best 
of  my  way  to  Mr.  Charles  Gordon^  at  the  Golden  Ball  in  JF'tne- 
Street,  where  I  had  been  directed. 

"  Here  I  was  inform'd,  that  at  a  certain  attorney's  house  in 
TVine-Street^  where  it  had  been  concerted  my  trusty  overseers 
should  conduct  me,  a  party  of  sea  lambs,  belonging  to  one  Green^ 
a  purveyor  of  transports,  whose  vessel  was  prepared  to  give  me  due 
reception,  that  very  evening  were  lying  in  wait. 

'''  Overjoy'd  at  this  eminent  escape,  I  looked  upon  my  present 


334  BIOGRAPHICAL   MEMOIRS 

situation  as  an  asylum,  to  secure  me  from  surrounding  dangers,, 
and  retired  with  great  satisfaction  to  repose  :  Iren'im  Arrus^  to 
reward  his  servant  for  his  over  abundant  care  and  circumspection, 
discharged  him  the  following  day,  and  the  fellow  lives  now  at  Bath^ 

"  How  far  this  magistrate,  or  any  of  his  friends,  can  reconcile 
these  proceedings  to  the  character  of  a  good  man,  I  leave  the 
world  to  judge.  But  it  is  certain,  by  these  means  he  thought  the 
more  effectually  to  gain  the  affection  of  my  oppressor,  for  whose 
interest  he  was  a  great  stickler  :  here  I  would  advise  this  gentle- 
man, if  he  has  any  regard  for  his  future  welfare,  in  the  most 
conspicuous  part  of  his  house,  to  have  wrote  in  large  Capitals^  the 
saying  of  a  truly  wise  man,  viz.  Innocence^  though  connected  with 
misery^  is  infinitely  preferable  to  guilt  and  grandeur. — This  being 
perpetually  in  his  eye,  might  one  time  or  other  strike  his  attention,, 
when  the  parallel,  so  obvious  betwixt  him  and  me  in  that  golden 
sentence,  would  perhaps  be  a  means  to  point  out  his  errors,  and 
reclaim  a  lost  sheep  to  its  native  fold. 

"  But  to  proceed,  the  better  to  secure  myself  from  any  future 
attempts,  and  induced  with  the  hopes  of  raising  some  friend,  who 
might  be  able  to  protect  me  against  their  iniquitous  schemes,  I 
determined  immediately  publishing  the  hardships  of  my  case;  being 
urged  the  more  to  this  last  resource,  upon  account  of  writs  having 
been  absolutely  issued  out,  and  dispatched  to  all  the  sea  port  towns 
to  prevent  mv  getting  away. 

"  Here,  methinks,  I  see  the  reader  in  amazement  lift  up  his  hands : 
was  ever  implacable  anger  carried  before  to  such  industrious 
lengths  !  is  this  the  anger  of  a  father  to  his  child  ? — no,  it  seems 
rather  relentless  justice  persecuting  with  iron  hands,  in  the 
severest  manner,  rapes,  murders,  felony,  and  treason  ;  it  is  not,  it 
cannot  be  that  ever  parental  ire,  should  be  carried  to  such  extreams 
against  the  issue  of  his  own  bowels — compelled  by  famine  to  com- 
mit the  few  errors  he  is  charged  with  ;  but  say,  generous  reader, 
how  great  the  error  ?  how  weighty  the  crime  ?  to  look  up  to  the 
authors  of  our  being  for  subsistance,  how  aggravating  the  guilt,  to 
ask  support,  from  a  parent  whose  innumerable  servants  sit  round 
tables  of  plentv,  the  crumbs  of  which  are  denied  to  his  own  child  ? 
and  yet,  that  this  is  the  sole  fault  for  which  I  have  hitherto 
suffered,  bewitness  persecution,  and  malice  in  spite  of  thyself  give 
evidence  to. 

"  My  mother's  family  at  this  time  were  so  highly  incensed  at 
my  father's  most  ungenerous  treatment  of  her,  they  would  by  no 
means  permit  her  to  countenance,  what  they  looked  upon  as  a 
living  monument  of  their  disgrace  ;  and  indeed,  she  being  now 
connected  to  the  interest  of  another  family  by   marriage,  it   was 


ROBERT   NUGENT,  JUNIOR  335 

not  to  be  expected  she  should  much  more  concern  herself  about 
me  ;  knowing  at  the  same  time,  how  far  my  father's  abilities  were 
capable  of  advancing  me,  without  either  prejudice  to  himself,  or 
any  one  else  of  his  family  ;  thus  I  fell  a  sacrifice  to  the  careless- 
ness of  the  one,  and  the  tyranny  of  the  other. 

"  In  short,  I  make  no  doubt,  it  will  appear  to  the  public,  as  well 
as  myself,  my  father's  sole  intention  was,  and  is  nothing  less  than 
my  destruction  ;  otherwise,  as  he  knew  my  design  to  go  over  to 
France^  what  reason  can  be  assigned  for  his  taking  so  much  pains 
to  obstruct  me  ;  but  hitherto  by  the  signal  interposition  of 
providence,  I  have  escaped  the  fatal  snare,  preserv^ed  as  yet  from 
the  secret  perils  of  salt-water,  the  ravenous  hunger  of  destroying 
sharks,  and  worse  than  these  the  shackles  of  endless  slavery. 

"I  was  obliged  during  my  stay  at  Bristol^  to  confine  myself  to 
mv  room,  officers  of  all  denominations  being  employ'd  to  watch 
the  door  day  and  night,  and  all  the  avenues  round,  were  kept 
secretly,  though  strictly  guarded,  as  I  found  any  attempt  towards 
an  escape  was  impracticable,  I  never  endeavoured  it  ;  but  made 
myself  as  easy  as  mv  present  melancholy  circumstances  would 
permit. 

"  As  I  had  no  other  choice  now,  I  set  about  writing  an  abstract 
of  my  case,  with  a  fixed  resolution  to  publish  it  without  delay  : 
my  father  being  informed  of  mv  intentions,  and  not  choosing  the 
world  should  at  this  critical  time,  when  every  art  is  made  use  of, 
and  the  complicated  force  of  bribes  and  flattery  are  thought  in- 
sufficient to  gain  the  unsteady  multitude,  be  acquainted  with  his 
unnatural  proceedings,  and  conscious  it  would  give  the  opposite 
party  the  greatest  satisfaction  to  expose  his  barbarity,  and  open  the 
eyes  of  the  public,  in  regard  to  a  man  they  had  fixed  upon,  as  the 
most  proper  to  execute  an  office  of  the  highest  trust,  which  like- 
wise at  the  same  time  is  one  of  the  greatest  honours  capable  of 
being  conferred  upon  a  subject  ;  being  conscious,  I  say,  of  the 
difficulties  he  must  lie  under,  should  this  dreaded  case  be  published, 
he  contrived  every  artifice,  that  subtility  and  invention  could  put 
in  practice  to  prevent  it  j  menaces  and  flattery  were  alternately 
made  use  of:  to-day  his  emissaries  breathed  out  the  language  of 
persecution,  and  nothing  less  than  Newgate  was  to  be  my  per- 
petual doom  ;  to-morrow  the  scene  was  changed,  and  mountains 
were  promised,  which  the  successive  day  saw  dwindle  into  mole- 
hills. 

"One  day  a  certain  gentleman  of  the  broad-brim  fraternity, 
vulgarly  called  quakers,  was  ushered  into  my  chamber,  and  being 
seated  j  '  friend,'  says  he,  'humanity  and  a  desire  to  bring  into  the 
path  of  life  a  stray  sheep,  induceth  me  to  call  upon  thee,  that  if 


336  BIOGRAPHICAL    MEMOIRS 

possible  I  might  open  the  ears  of  thy  understanding,  to  the  end 
that  the  light  of  the  spirit  might  be  admitted  to  operate  upon  thee, 
and  thou  shouldest  become  a  new  man  :' — admiring  so  uncommon 
an  introduction,  with  great  civility  I  desired  him  to  proceed, — 
'  rebellion  and  disobedience  to  our  superiors,  will  be  punished  in  the 
regions  of  darkness  ;  in  the  regions  of  darkness  will  they  be  chastised, 
where  is  weeping  and  wailing,  and  gnashing  of  teeth,  and  though 
thou  deckest  thy  face  in  smiles,  such  as  the  prophane  smileth,  yet  it 
behoveth  me,  to  say  unto  thee,  as  Nathan  said  unto  Davul,  thou 
art  the  man  ' — after  a  sigh  was  continued, '  friend,  thou  hast  abused 
the  ears  of  this  city,  moved  thereunto  by  the  father  of  lies,  the 
ears  of  this  city  hast  thou  abused  ;  thou  hast  sounded  the  trumpet 
of  sedition,  and  division  is  scattered  abroad,  be  no  more  as  one  of 
the  wicked,  take  not  thee  part  with  the  sons  of  Belial,  but  let 
the  spirit  hatch  the  seeds  of  truth,  and  thou  shalt  flourish,  as 
flourisheth  the  godly.' — ^I  am  afraid.  Sir,'  said  I,  '  it  is  the  spirit  of 
gold,  not  the  spirit  of  godliness,  to  which  I  am  indebted  for  this 
charitable  visit.' — ^  Friend,  friend,  be  not  thou  as  the  prophane  one 
is,  who  stoppeth  his  ears  to  council,  and  sitteth  in  the  chair  of 
folly  ;  for  verily  it  is  said,  thou  hast  rebelled  against  thy  father, 
who  begot  thee,  yea,  thou  hast  set  thyself  up  against  thy  own 
flesh  and  blood,  and  evil,  I  say  unto  thee,  evil  must  proceed  there- 
from.' Here  a  considerable  pause  ensuing, '  Sir,'  said  I, '  if  compelled 
by  hunger,  my  asking  for  bread  may  be  termed  rebellion,  then 
have  I  rebelled,  if  endeavouring  to  fly  from  an  implacable  parent, 
to  avoid  the  efforts  of  relentless  tyranny,  by  seeking  an  asylum  in 
a  foreign  country  is  disobedience,  then  I  have  disobeyed,  but 
without  farther  prolixity,  pray  what  have  I  to  expect  from  a  visit  in- 
troduced in  so  uncommon  a  manner  ? '  to  which  was  answered, 
*  I  visit  thee  as  Noali's  dove  visited  the  ark,  verily  I  bring  an  olive 
branch  as  an  overture  of  peace,' — here  drawing  a  green  purse  from 
his  pocket,  he  seemed  to  eye  it  attentively,  though  his  looks 
denoted  at  the  same  time  no  great  propensity  to  part  with  it.  '  I 
will  not  say,  friend,  but  I  have  orders,'  continued  he,  '  to  offer  thee 
some  pieces,  wouldest  thou  hearken  to  proposals  intended  solely 
for  thy  benefit  ;  four  guineas  will  carry  thee  to  the  great  city,  and 
thou  wilt  have  sufficient  thereof  remaining  to  answer  all  thy 
purposes  until  time  shall  come,  when  thou  shalt  be  amply  provided 
for  ;  yea,  and  I  say  unto  thee,  that  time  is  nearer  at  hand  than 
thou  devisest.'  *  Sir,'  said  I,  '  I  am  not  willing  to  be  an  instrument 
employed  to  prejudice  my  father  in  any  scheme  he  is  bent  to 
execute,  but  what  security  have  I  to  depend  upon,  should  I  accept 
of  your  offer,  which  you  may  be  certain  I  will  not,  or  for  your 
performance  of  what  you  promise,  nay,  what  is  it  you  promise. 


ROBERT   NUGENT,  JUNIOR  337 

or  how  shall  I  be  provided  for?'  to  which,  after  some  time 
spent  in  rectifying  his  starch  band,  Aminadab  answered,  '  friend, 
thou  art  as  one  of  the  unthinking  ones  are,  thou  shuttest  thine 
ears  to  reason  :  O  !  may  the  thick  darkness  thou  art  involved  in 
be  dispersed,  and  the  light  internal  shine  upon  thy  understanding, 
and  direct  thee  to  walk  in  the  rieht  way  :  haddest  thou  been 
attentive  to  what  I  said,  thy  intellects  must  have  told  thee,  the 
rod  of  chastisement  is  withdrawn,  and  rebuke  shall  no  more 
frown  upon  thee  ;  here  is  three  times  more  than  sufficient  to 
defray  thy  road  expences,  a  great  deal  of  money,  friend,  verily 
a  great  deal,  if  thou  makest  proper  use  of  it ;  '  telling  out  at 
the  same  time  five  guineas  very  deliberately  upon  the  table, 
— '  what  remaineth  in  thy  pocket,  will  keep  thee  handsomely  till 
thy  father  cometh  up,  who  will  without  delay,  he  promises  by  me, 
procure  thee  some  profitable  employment  under  the  government ; 
yea  verily,  and  something  within  whispereth  me  thou  shalt  in  a 
little  time  become  a  great  man.' 

"  In  short,  not  to  fatigue  the  reader  any  more  with  a  dull  recital 
of  what  passed  betwixt  the  sanctified  surgeon  and  myself,  the 
following  day  he  agreed  to  make  me  a  present  of  six  guineas,  to 
discharge  whatever  I  owed  to  the  landlord  of  the  house,  to  give 
me  security  I  should  not  be  molested  in  any  shape  whatever,  pro- 
vided I  would  depart  the  city  of  Bristol  the  next  day,  and  leave 
an  instrument  along  with  him,  testifying  my  resolution  to  prosecute 
the  author  or  authors  of  any  pamphlet,  bold  enough  to  prefix  my 
name  thereto. 

"I  blush  to  record  my  weakness,  flattering  myself  with  the  hopes 
that  my  father  would  be  pleased,  at  my  entering  so  readily  into  his 
proposals,  and  fulfill  the  promise  made  by  his  agent,  I  accepted  the 
terms,  and  once  more  fell  into  the  snare  prepared  for  me  some 
time  before  :  the  next  mornins;  early,  I  set  out  for  London  on 
foot,  being  determined  to  spin  out  my  money  to  the  greatest 
length,  where  in  four  days  I  arrived,  nothing  remarkable  in- 
terv'ening  during  my  journey. 

"  In  this  manner  having  regained  my  liberty,  and  reflecting  upon 
the  danger  I  had  escaped,  my  father's  restless  cruelty,  and  my 
brother's  base  behaviour  ;  I  found  there  was  still  no  little  reason  to 
suspect  the  promises  lately  made,  of  procuring  me  a  place  in  some 
of  the  public  offices,  so  I  resolved  to  keep  myself  as  secure  as  possible, 
from  any  plot  which  now  might  be  hatching  against  me  :  till  I 
had  determined  how  to  proceed,  I  procured  lodgings  in  the  most 
secret  manner,  at  an  Irish  house  in  Princess-street^  Leicester-Fields^ 
the  master  of  which  I  had  formerly  known,  and  knew  I  could 
confide  in. 


338  BIOGRAPHICAL   MEMOIRS 

"What  little  money  I  had  to  spare,  was  expended  in  purchasing 
upon  some  decent  aparrel,  which  I  now  greatly  wanted,  intending 
my  father's  arrival  in  town,  to  address  him  in  the  most  dutiful  and 
submissive  manner,  my  design  being  to  remind  him  of  his  promise 
made  by  the  quaker  -,  and  by  testifying  with  the  utmost  humility 
my  filial  duty  and  respect,  endeavour,  if  not  to  gain  his  esteem,  at 
least  to  soften  his  resentment ;  if  I  should  fail  in  that,  my  resolu- 
tion was  to  retire  without  loss  of  time  to  France^  being  assisted  in 
that  design  by  a  gentleman,  whose  sincere  regard,  and  tender 
affection,  will  always  be  imprinted  within  my  breast ;  gratitude 
for  the  kind  reception,  and  generous  assistance,  I  met  with  from 
his  hands,  compels  me  to  cast  a  veil  over  that  dear  name,  the 
beloved  owner  of  which  might  tyrannically  be  persecuted  upon 
my  account. 

"  I  was  not  only  furnished  by  him  with  ten  guineas,  and  cloths 
to  appear  before  the  great  man  I  now  intended  to  seek  relief 
from,  but  also  provided  with  letters  of  recommendation,  necessary 
for  my  introduction  ;  to  be  brief,  I  looked  upon  the  eve  of  my 
happiness  to  be  as  now  arrived,  a  seat  in  the  Dover  coach  was 
already  took,  and  I  scarcely  imagined  mvself  upon  English  ground; 
but  alas  !   how  soon  were  all  my  golden  hopes  blasted. 

"  The  morning  before  my  intended  departure,  I  was  dodged  frorn 
a  friends  house  in  Leicester  Fields  to  the  George-Inn  in  the  Hay- 
markety  by  a  couple  of  hell-hounds,  attended  by  the  clerk  of  an 
honest  lawyer  in  Pater-noster-row^  together  with  a  servant  of  my 
humane  father's,  and  was  now  apprehended  by  virtue  of  the  last 
bond  of  six  hundred  and  twenty  pounds,  with  an  execution  tacked 
to  the  back  of  it ;  and  being  thrusted  immediately  into  a  hackney 
coach,  away  jumble  I  and  the  fiends  to  the  catch-pole's  den  in  the 
Strand. 

"  O  reader,  if  ever  thou  was't  unhappy  enough  to  be  involved  in 
misfortunes,  no  doubt  thou  must  have  heard  of  this  insatiable 
harpy,  who  had  me  now  in  his  clutches,  but  to  give  thee  at  once 
a  just  idea  of  him,  his  name  will  be  sufficient,  and  that  is  Randal. 

"The  vicissitudes  of  human  life,  and  the  sudden  transitions  from 
wealth  to  poverty,  from  plenty  to  penury,  make  it  not  unreason- 
able in  this  place  to  entertain  the  public  with  a  brief  description 
of  that  infernal  mansion,  called  a  spunging  house. 

"  Whoever  thou  art  that  runs  over  these  pages,  may  peace,  plenty 
and  happiness  still  wait  upon  thy  steps,  may'st  thou  enjoy  a  per- 
petual elysium  in  the  arms  of 'a  faithful  consort,  and  thy  blooming 
off-spring  live  upon  thy  smiles,  O  may  never  a  reverse  of  fortune 
snatch  thee  from  every  domestick  joy,  to  this  den  of  woe,  whose 
fatal   threshold    pass'd,    O  !    for   a   draught   of  Lethe  to   sink  past 


ROBERT   NUGENT,  JUNIOR  339 

scenes  in  oblivion,  and  deprive  thee  of  all  sensation  ;  here,  here,  is 
the  touchstone  of  friendship  ;  ye  time-serving  crew,  who  feasted 
at  my  table,  whose  wine  it  was  that  nightly  deprived  you  of  vour 
cares,  when  the  festal  bowl  went  gayly  round,  how  lavish  were 
ye,  your  fortunes  and  yourselves  were  freely  offered,  why  suddenly 
so  parsimonious ;  thou  possessed  of  twice  ten  thousand,  who  hast 
experienced  my  liberal  purse,  more  than  once  in  time  of  almost 
need  ;  my  substance  is  abroad,  till  that  returns,  be  my  bail  for 
this  three  hundred  ?  grant  me  patience  !  am  I  refused,  monstrous 
villain  ! — be  not  amazed,  try  others, — deceived  again  ! — The  circle 
which  but  just  now  appeared  crowded  with  friends,  by  applying 
the  magnet  of  adversity  is  suddenly  vanished. 

"  The  coach  in  which  the  unhappy  wretch  is  carried  to  this  house 
of  slaughter,  being  ordered  to  draw  up,  he  is  pushed  headlong  out 
into  a  room,  the  doors  and  windows  of  which  are  trebly  guarded 
with  iron  bars,  here  in  all  probability  he  is  received  by  three  or 
four  brothers  of  misfortune,  and  after  having  for  a  while  stupidly 
gazed  at  each  other,  he  is  perhaps  invited  to  sit  down,  silence  and 
sorrow  swell  up  the  short  interval  betwixt  this  and  dinner,  which 
though  none  of  the  most  delicate,  is  introduced  by  the  great 
bashaw  himself,  who,  big  with  his  own  superior  worth,  in  great 
dignity  seats  himself  at  the  head  ;  the  wife,  as  next  in  authority, 
places  herself  at  his  right  hand,  and  a  couple  of  hawk-ey'd  setters 
take  their  decrees  at  his  left. 

"And  now  if  the  unhappy  sufferer  hath  any  appetite,  let  him  sit 
down  and  partake  of  the  unsanctilied  meal,  if  not,  expect  the  she 
tvrant  to  growl ;  '  marry  come  up,  some  folks  are  hard  to  please, 
though  mav  be  such  a  table  of  their  own  never  called  them 
master  ;  and  though  I  say  it,  as  should  not  say  it,  the  best  lord  in 
the  land  does  not  provide  better,  for  I  carries  the  ready  to  market, 
and  no  one  can  say  as  I  owe  them  a  single  farthing,  no  no,  I'm 
not  the  body  that  runs  in  debt,  and  2;ives  honest  folk  the  trouble 
to  come  at  their  own  ; ' — '  but  mv  dear,'  answers  old  dignity  from 
his  elbow  chair,  '  what  si2:nifies  beina;  so  hard  on  the  2:entleman, 
when  his  gall  is  broke  he  will  be  more  chearful ;  come,  Mary^  fill 
him  up  a  glass  of  wine  \ '  which  if  refused,  as  most  likely  it  mav,  is 
immediately  swallowed  up,  bv  some  of  this  unfeeling  crew,  who 
seldom  leave  the  table  till  four  or  five  bottles  are  added  to  the 
reckoning:,  which  when  ni2;ht  arrives  must  be  dischar2;ed  :  at 
which  time  all  credit  expires  ;  and  if  the  bill  comes  within  the 
limits  of  eight,  nine,  or  ten  shillings,  think  it  compleatly 
moderate. 

"  The  goaler  now  waits  to  see  each  to  his  separate  apartment, 
where  scarcely  time  is  permitted  to  undress,  before  the  light  is 


340  BIOGRAPHICAL   MEMOIRS 

rudely  took  away,  and  the  harmonious  clangor  of  massy  bolts  and 
bars  conclude  the  scene. 

"  Left  thus  to  meditate  on  the  dismal  change,  grief  and  anxiety 
banish  sleep,  which  otherwise  might  seal  the  drowsy  eyelids  in 
spight  of  Bugs^  and  a  flock  bed :  the  painful  hours  at  length  bring 
on  the  opening  day,  that  with  much  difficulty  penetrates  through 
the  numberless  barrs,  which  endeavour  to  obstruct  it's  grateful 
entrance  ;  starting  from  the  couch  of  misery,  tattered  curtains, 
dusty  hangings,  half  a  table,  and  a  broken  chair,  greet  the  eye  ; 
the  damp  walls  here  and  there  adorned  with  an  old  ballad,  the 
babes  in  the  wood,  or  perhaps  a  quaker  sermon  ;  the  ten  foot  room 
with  unwearied  step  is  now  from  side  to  side  alternately  measured; 
day  advances,  and  the  attentive  ears  listen  to  every  noise,  whilst 
the  eye  reckons  up  the  iron  studs,  which  chequer  in  geometrical 
squares  the  impenetrable  door. 

"  An  hour  short  of  noon,  liberty  is  permitted  to  descend,  when 
the  morose  tvrant,  the  muscles  of  his  face  contracted  in  the  sternest 
manner,  thus  at  the  stair  foot  salutes  you ;  '  well.  Sir,  the  twenty 
four  hours  allowed  by  act  of  parliament  is  expired,  I  am  told  there 
is  no  prospect  of  making  your  affair  up,  the  debt  is  large,  and  for 
my  own  security,  I  must  call  a  coach  and  conduct  you  to  Newgate.'* 
Be  not  astonished  at  the  terrifying  sound,  but  cross  the  monster's 
venal  palm  with  half  a  piece,  instantly  the  features  relax,  and  the 
tone  of  his  voice  is  soften'd :  '  why,  sir,'  says  he,  '  I  am  a  gentle- 
man as  scorns  to  use  a  man  ill ;  so  be  as  you  think  to  make 
matters  up,  stay  here  in  god's  name,  and  let  me  tell  you,  many  a 
great  man  whose  name's  shall  be  hush,  has  spent  a  merry  hour  in 
my  house  ;  for  though  I  say  it  a  bottle  of  better  wine  is  not  to  be 
found  in  London.'' 

"  With  this  item  he  leaves  you  assiduously  to  follow  his  daily 
destructive  occupation,  and  now  if  neither  bail  or  money  can't  be 
procured,  nor  the  relentless  creditors  give  an  ear  to  composition, 
take  without  delay  the  benefit  of  the  habeas  Corpus  act,  which 
at  the  expence  of  about  four  pounds,  will  remove  you  from  this 
den  of  perdition,  to  whatever  commodious  prison  you  think  proper 
to  choose,  the  fleet,  and  the  king's  bench,  being  in  such  cases  the 
sad  alternative. 

"  Give  no  ear  to  the  catch-pole,  or  any  of  his  emissaries,  who 
as  long  as  you  spend  profusely  will  use  all  their  art  to  detain  you, 
will  daily  flatter  you  with  hopes  of  compromising  your  affairs,  and 
invent  a  thousand  lies  to  deceive  you  ;  but  when  your  money  is 
gone,  the  cloven  hoof  discovers  itself,  most  base  and  injurious 
language  is  made  use  of,  and  the  very  first  bill  of  extortion  you 
are  incapable  to  pay,  sends  you  indeed  to  Newgate. 


ROBERT   NUGENT,  JUNIOR  341 

"  This  was  my  unhappy  case,  the  artful  villain  soon  found  I 
had  money,  which  he  resolved  should  in  a  little  time  revert  to 
him  ;  in  consequence  of  which,  I  was  kept  in  perpetual  suspense  ; 
hopes  were  given  me  to-day,  which  alass  !  the  following  day  proved 
false  ;  three  or  four  shillings  were  added  every  night  to  my  bill, 
for  porters  that  were  never  employ'd,  and  as  much  for  liquor  I 
never  drank  ;  in  the  space  of  ten  or  twelve  days  my  pocket  began 
to  ebb,  and  I  found  mvself  reduced  to  a  single  guinea,  with  which 
when  the  subtle  demon  was  acquainted,  '  ay,'  says  he,  '  to- 
morrow I  will  carry  vou  to  Mr.  Cox^  vour  father's  attorney  in 
Paternoster-row^  and  make  no  doubt  but  we  shall  compleat  your 
business.' 

"  The  next  mornina:  a  coach  was  called,  which  bia;  with  the 
sanguine  thoughts  of  liberty,  I  immediately  entered  ;  when  the 
coach  stopped,  this  inhumane  monster,  who  had  by  various 
artifices  received  near  ten  guineas  from  me,  stepped  out,  and 
giving  me  his  hand  ;  '  now.  Sir,'  says  he,  *  let  me  congratulate 
you  upon  your  arrival  to  this  famous  and  celebrated  castle,  where 
you  will  receive  more  strict  attendance  than  my  poor  hut  was 
capable  of  giving  you.' — Newgate  with  all  it's  horrors  presented 
itself  to  my  eyes,  and  I  was  now  for  a  third  time  plunged  into  the 
inhospitable  mansions  of  a  goal,  and  surrounded  with  anguish  and 
despair. 

"  A  subscription  was  open'd  for  me,  by  means  of  which,  I  not 
only  bade  a-dieu  to  the  horrors  of  Newgate^  and  was  preserved 
from  perishing,  but  for  my  future  support,  was  enabled  to  lay 
before  the  publick  a  full  account  of  all  my  sufferings,  the  publica- 
tion of  which,  my  father,  and  his  subtle  agents  strenuously 
endeavoured  to  prevent  :  threats,  menaces,  and  all  the  vengeance  of 
future  law,  was  employed  to  deter  the  printers,  publishers,  &c., 
from  daring  to  print  or  publish  a  single  sheet  in  my  favour,  yet  all 
in  vain,  the  unfinished  pamphlet  found  its  way  to  the  press,  and 
though  composed  in  the  utmost  hurry,  and  favourably  received  by 
the  nobility  and  gentry,  to  whom  for  their  generous  reception  of 
such  a  trifle,  I  return  my  sincerest  acknowledgments,  and  my 
bosom  glowing  with  gratitude,  daily  supplicates  almighty  goodness 
ten  thousand  fold,  to  reward  those  my  generous  benefactors,  with- 
out whose  humane  assistance,  the  grave  before  now,  must  have 
put  a  period  to  my  miseries. 

"  By  the  advice  of  several  friends  I  was  now  brought  up  to 
Guildhall  to  take  the  benefit  of  the  late  act  of  insolvency,  but 
my  father's  inhumanity  was  now  arrived  at  so  great  a  pitch, 
nothing  could  deter  him  from  appearing  against  me  in  the  face  of 
the    whole    court.       As    the    day    was    uncertain,     he     had     the 


342  BIOGRAPHICAL   MEMOIRS 

displeasure  of  attending  three  or  four  different  times,  being  deter- 
mined not  to  miss  his  opportunity,  yet  in  case  the  court  should 
grant  me  liberty,  which  was  unhappily  for  me,  not  in  their  power, 
and  to  put  a  finishing  stroke  to  his  barbarities,  a  gang  of  sailors 
were  planted  at  the  doors  of  the  Hall  to  seize  me  as  I  should 
come  out,  and  with  the  utmost  expedition  carry  me  on  board  a 
tender. 

"  My  schedule  when  called  for  being  produced  contained 
nothing  but  a  list  of  two  hundred  books  and  pamphlets,  intitled 
the  unnatural  father,  and  which  indeed  was  the  sum  total  of  all 
my  effects,  the  court  now  fixed  their  eyes  upon  this  persecuting 
parent,  whose  blood  mounted  in  his  cheek,  and  for  once  his 
assurance  failed  him.  Several  knotty  points  were  now  discussed, 
but  the  bond  which  I  had  been  so  artfully  induced  to  execute  in 
Gloucester-Castle^  exceeding  the  sum  mentioned  by  act  of  parlia- 
ment,i  it  was  with  the  greatest  reluctance,  that  the  court 
remanded  me  back  to  prison,  giving  me  the  full  allowance  per- 
mitted by  the  act,  which  is  seven  shillings  and  six  pence  per 
week. 

"  To  the  recorder  and  lord  mayor,  I  am  under  the  greatest 
obligations  for  the  pity  and  compassion  they  were  pleased  to  shew 
my  hard  case,  and  think  it  no  less  than  my  duty  to  return  my 
sincerest  thanks  in  this  place  for  such  their  benign  regards. 

"  How  I  found  myself  for  life  fixed  in  a  prison,  and  shut  out 
from  the  most  distant  hopes  of  ever  attaining  future  liberty,  as  my 

^  "  This  clause  in  the  act  of  Insolvency,  which  detains  me  now  in 
prison,  may  not  be  disagreeable  to  the  reader. — Provided  always  that 
this  act  shall  not  extend  to  discharge  any  persons  oQt  of  prison,  taking 
his  or  her  discharge  under  this  act,  with  respect  to  any  debt  which  he 
or  she  shall  stand  charged  al  the  suit  of  the  crown,  or  shall  be  indebted 
to  any  body  politick  or  corporate,  or  to  any  one  person,  in  any  sum 
exceeding  the  sum  of  ^,^500.  besides  interest  and  cost,  unless  such  body 
politick  or  corporate,  or  creditor,  shall  consent  thereto,  and  if  any  such 
body  politick  or  corporate,  or  creditor,  to  whom  a  sum  exceeding 
^^500.  shall  be  owing,  shall  oppose  the  discharge  of  such  prisoner^  and 
shall  insist  that  such  prisoner  be  continued  in  goal  3  that  then  in  feuch 
case,  such  body  politick,  or  corporate,  or  creditor,  opposing  the  said 
prisoner's  discharge  as  aforesaid,  shall  at  his,  her  or  their  proper  cost 
and  charges,  allow,  and  pay  such  a  weekly  maintenance,  to  the  said 
prisoner,  not  exceeding  three  shillings  and  six-pence  per  week,  in  such 
manner,  as  the  justices  in  their  general  or  quarter  sessions  shall  order, 
and  upon  non  payment  of  the  same,  for  the  space  of  six  weeks,  the 
said  prisoner,  upon  application  to  the  said  justices  in  their  general  or 
quarter  sessions  as  aforesaid,  shall  be  discharged  pursuant  to  the  meaning 
and  intent  of  this  act." 


ROBERT   NUGENT,  JUNIOR  343 

injust  action  will  for  life  detain  me  in  durance  and  my  misery- 
only  be  encreased,  should  my  fellow  sufferers,  by  the  intervening 
mercy  of  any  future  act  be  admitted  to  partake  of  those  blessings, 
which  through  the  means  of  parental  tyranny,  are  alas  !  for  ever 
denied  to  me. 

"  My  father  having  thus  compleated  my  misery,  things  remained 
for  a  while  in  a  state  of  inaction  untill  some  months  a^o, 
proposals  were  again  made  for  sending  me  abroad.  The  first 
mover  of  which,  like  a  snake  in  the  grass  artfully  kept  himself 
concealed,  to  the  end,  he  might  the  more  effectually  seize  his 
prey. 

"  A  certain  gentleman  a  namesake,  and  as  he  says  a  relation 
of  my  mother's,  who  has  had  the  honour  of  bearing  a  militia 
colonel's  commission  in  some  part  of  the  TVest  Indies^  where  I  am 
informed  he  is  possessed  of  a  considerable  estate,  came  in  person 
to  the  Fleet^  and  applying  himself  to  a  gentleman  conversant  in 
the  law,  who  had  some  small  acquaintance  with  me  ;  under  the 
sanction  of  humanitv  and  2;oodwilL  introduced  himself  in  the 
following  manner,  *  Sir,  I  am  informed  an  unhappy  young  fellow, 
the  son  of  a  near  relation  of  mine,  whose  name  is  Nugenius^  has 
been  for  sometime  confined  in  this  place  ;  as  I  have  the  greatest 
regard  for  his  mother,  my  endeavours  shall  not  be  wanting  to 
get  him  out,  my  proposals  I  shall  leave  with  you,  to  whom  I  have 
been  particularly  recommended,  which  you  at  leisure  may 
communicate  to  him  ;  tell  him  if  he  agrees  thereto,  I  will  out  of 
my  own  pocket  discharge  his  debt  of  six  hundred  and  twenty 
pounds,  together  with  costs,  and  according  to  his  behaviour  he 
may  expect  future  favours.' 

"  After  he  was  gone  the  counsellor  sent  for  me  into  the  Coffee- 
room^  the  uncommon  news  gave  me  no  small  transports,  but  how 
was  that  chilled,  when  I  was  acquainted  with  the  heads  of  the 
proposals,  and  the  unartful  mask  fell  at  my  feet.  I  was  in  the  first 
plan  to  indent  myself  for  four  years,  to  serve  him  upon  a  planta- 
tion of  his,  in  the  island  of  Santa  Cruz;  which  by  the  by  is  a 
Danish  settlement,  my  salary  to  be  twenty  pounds  per  annu?n^  I 
was  to  enter  into  a  bond  with  a  thousands  penalty,  never  to  use 
the  name,  which  by  the  laws  of  my  country  I  am  entitled  to,  nor 
to  return  during  the  space  of  four  years  to  England^  nor  ever  be 
any  more  troublesome  to  Tiberius  or  his  family  ;  I  was  not  to 
have  either  money  or  cloaths  till  they  had  got  me  on  board. 

"  In  consideration  of  agreeing  to  these  articles,  I  was  to  receive 
fifty  pounds  when  arrived  in  the  T^est  Indies^  he,  the  colonel,  was 
to  pay  my  debts  in  the  prison  which  might  amount  to  about 
fifteen  or  twenty  pounds ;  and   likewise  to   provide  me   with  all 


344  BIOGRAPHICAL   MEMOIRS 

the  suitable  apparel,  but  observe  the  money  which  he  laid  out  to 
pay  my  debts  contracted  in  prison,  and  to  furnish  me  with 
cloaths  was  to  be  deducted  from  the  fifty  pounds  j  and  I  was  only 
to  receive  the  ballance,  if  any,  in  Santa  Crux :  my  passage  etc. 
he  would  also  pay,  but  I  was  still  to  be  his  debtor,  and  pay  that 
when  I  should  be  rich  ;  I  make  use  of  the  express  words  as  they 
stood  in  the  proposals. 

"  Such  were  the  conditions  proposed  by  this  gentleman,  to 
which  the  world  will  suppose  I  made  several  objections,  a  respect- 
ful and  humble  remonstrance  he  received  from  me  a  day  or  two 
after  was  productive  of  the  following  concise  answer  wrote  upon 
a  small  scrap  of  paper  :  '  I  find  you  begin  to  rebel  before  your 
enlargement,  if  you  do  not  think  proper  to  accept  the  terms,  I 
wash  my  hands  of  you.' 

"  In  short  this  negotiation  held  off  and  on  near  three  months, 
but  hard  as  the  conditions  were  I  accepted  of  all  even  to  the  taking 
upon  me  the  name  of  Plunkett  or  Farrell^  an  other  name  which  the 
colonel  advised  me  to  assume,  rather  than  that  of  Plunkett^  for 
what  reason  he  only  knows,  yet  as  I  would  not  be  bound  publicly 
to  deny  my  real  name,  it  dropt,  and  no  more  have  since  been 
heard  from  that  quarter." 

Thus  ends  the  story  of  Robert  Nugent,  Junior.  The  Pamphlet 
to  which  he  has  referred  was  called  *  The  Unnatural  Father,  and 
the  Persecuted  Son.'  That  and  '  The  Oppressed  Captive '  was 
no  doubt  circulated  in  the  hope  that  Public  opinion  would  be  too 
strong  to  allow  his  Father  to  disregard  it,  and  that  he  would  once 
more  obtain  his  freedom.  In  the  denouement  of  the  Novel  he 
makes  a  spirited  appeal  to  the  Public,  and  expresses  him.self  trans- 
ported beyond  the  bounds  of  reason  at  the  most  distant  prospect  of 
liberty.  "  Methinks,"  he  says,  "  I  stand  on  the  banks  of  the 
Ohio !   George's  royal    commission    in    my     panting     bosom,     and 

Britannia' s  streamer  in  my  hand. Behold  the  pointed  raveling- 

owns  the  superior  force  of  destructive  cannon.  The  breach  is 
storm'd,  and  Gallic  veterans  sink  beneath  the  sword  of  liberty  :  In 
the  Glorious  hour  when  honour  bears  the  soul  aloft,  and  the 
purple  stream  pours  from  unfelt  wounds  ;  then  ye  Generous 
benefactors,  then  shall  ye  be  remembered  ;  and  the  honourable 
trust  reposed  in  me,  nothing  shall  discharge  but  death  or 
Conquest." 


INDEX 


Abdy,  Sir  John,  223 
Addison,  Joseph,  309 
Aix-la-Chapelle,  243,  246 

Treaty  of,  35,  252 

Albemarle's  Rockingham^  28 
Albemarle,  George,  third  Earl  of, 

228 
Almon,  99 
America,  74,  75,  76 
War  of  Independence,  79,  80, 

81,  82,  84,  91 ;  attack  on  Sullivan's 

Island,  291-3  ;  reduction  of  New 

York,  293-4 
Angelo,  the  fencer,  87 
Anspach,  ^Margrave  of,  199 
Ashburton,  Lord.     See  Dunning 
Atholl,  Bt.,  [letter]  280 

Ballynahinch,  action  at,  274-6 

Baltimore,  Lord,  37,  40 

Baltinglas,  Lord,  2,  3 

Barnard,  Sir  John,  46 

Barnewall,  Mar}',  6 

Robert,  ninth  Lord  Trimles- 

ton,  6 
Barrington,  second  Viscount,  letter 

of,  257 
Bath,  Lord,  49 
Beckford,  Alderman  Richard,  62, 63, 

68,  202 

William,  63,  70 

Bedford,  John,  fourth  Duke  of,  265  ; 

letter  to  Nugent,  251-2 
Bentinck,  Lady  W.,  277 
Berkeley,  Augustus,  fourth  Earl  of, 

16 

Lady,  223 

Bigelow's  Life  0/  Be?tja7ni?t  Fra7ik- 

lin,  75 
Bindon,  the  artist,  192,  235 


Board  of  Trade,  64,  74,  75,  76,  253, 
266 

Bolingbroke,  Henry  St.  John,  Vis- 
count, 30,  37,  237 

Bond,  Mr.,  324 

Botetcourt,  Lord,  265 

Bottles,  foreign,  63,  67 

Boyle,  Miss,  198 

"  Boys,"  the,  34 

Brickdale,  Mr.,  68,  79 

Bristol,   V,  83,  203,  212,    213,  214 
215,  216,  241,   249,   265  ;  Union 
Club,  204,  208,  209  ;  Election  of 
1754,62-5,  202-3,  331,  333  ;   Nu- 
gent's  work  for,  66-72,  100 

George,  Earl  of,  17, 18, 198, 199 

Britain's  greatness,  164 

Britons,  183 

Buckingham,  276,  309 

Marquis  of,  24,  26,  278.     See 

also  Grenville,  George 

Burgoyne,  General,  83,  84 

Burgundy,  Duke  of,  253 

Burke,  Edmund,  74,  -]-],  l'^,  79j  80 
83,  86,  88 

Byng,  Admiral,  210,  213,  215,  217 

Byrne,  Mrs.,  278 

Robert,  278 

Calvert,  Sir  W.,  203 
Camden,  Lord,  23,  24 
Camilla,  verses  to,  183-4 
Canada,  81 
Cardigan,  Lady,  244 
Carlton  House,  32,  41 
Carteret.     See  Granville,  Lord 
Castle  Inn,  Aldersgate  Street,  318 
Catalani,  278 

Cato^  Royal  representation  of  Addi- 
son's, 16 


34^ 


INDEX 


Chamber,    Anna,    Lady    Cobham, 

198 
Chandos,  third  Duke  of,  85 
Henry,  second  Duke,  [letter] 

230 
Chapmett,  Mr.,  287 
Charing  Cross  Hospital,  315 
Charlemagne's  skull,  245 
Chatham,  Earl  of.     See  Pitt 
Chesterfield,  Philip  Dormer,   Earl 

of,  28,  2>2„  231,  [five  letters]  242-9 
Cipriani,  141 

Clare,  Viscount.    See  Nugent,  Earl 
Clarissa,  Ode  to,  99 
Clayton,  Wm.,  Lord  Sundon,  35 
Cobham,  Lady,  198 

Lord.     See  Temple 

Cockpit,  the,  27,  241,  250,  251 
Colleton,— M.P.,  265 
Collingwood,  Mrs.  C,  10 
Colquhoun,  Sir  R.,  283 
Conway,  Marshall,  75 
Corinna,   Verses  to,  185'- 
Cornbury,  Viscount,  An  Epistle  to, 

161,  [letter]  240-1 
Cornish  M.P.s  in  1741,  31 
"  Country  Party,"  or  "  The  Patriots," 

15,  31,  32,  lOI 
Craggs,  James,  9,  10,  12 

Mr.  Secretary,  9,  10,  12,  14 

Anne,   9,    10,    13,   afterwards 

Nugent 
Craggs- Nugent.    See  Nugent,  Earl 
Crosby,  Mr.,  329 
Crown  over   Parliament.     Origin 

and  consequences  of  the  infl2ie7ice 

of  the,  229 
Cruger,  Henry,  79 
Cumberland,  H.R.H.  Henry  Fred- 
erick, Duke  of,  22 
Curl,  John,  234 

Curzon  Street  Marriages,  48,  57 
Cyder  Bill,  264 

Dartmouth,  Wm.,  Earl  of,  142 

Davidson,  Lieutenant,  283 

Dawnay,  Rev.  Prebendary,  203 

Delanors,  Mr.,  231 

Delany,  Mrs.,  10 

Deloin,  Lord,  231 

Desire,  on,  168 

Devonshire,  Wm.,  fourth  Duke  of, 

Dillon,  Chief  Justice,  2 
Sir  Robert,  3 


Dobson,  Mr.  Austin,  20 
Dodington,  G.  Bubb,  37,  38-40,  41 
Dodsley's  Collection,  99 
Dorset,  Lionel,  first   Duke,  [letter] 

260 
Dover  Street,  201 
Drax,  Henry,  16 

T.  E.,  M.P.,  266 

YX\z2i}c)^\h.,afterwards  Berkeley 

and  Nugent,  16 
Drummond,  Mr.,  26 
Dunkin,  Dr.  William,  loi  ;  Epistle 

to  Nugent,  192-4 
Dunning,  J.,  80,  87 
Dunsany,  Lord,  [letter]  278-9 
Dupont,  Count,  271 
Durouse,  General,  264 

East  India  Company,  80,  283,  321 
Edgar,  Miss  Katherine,  272 
Edward,    H.R.H.    Duke   of   Kent, 

312 
Egmont,  Earl  of,  36,  37,  39,  40,  211, 

215,  216,  218  [letters  of],  205-6, 

207-8 
Eliot,  Richard,  13 

Mrs.  Harriet,  10,  13 

Ellis,  Wellbore,  95 
Epigrams,  185-188 
Erskine,  Rev.  John,  224,  229 
Essex,  Lady  Frances,  19 
Exhibition     of    strong     men    and 

women,  13 

Fagan's  Academy,  6,  271,  316 

Faith,  Nugent's,  loi 

Faulkener,  Dublin  bookseller,  237, 

238,  239 
Captain,  R.N.,  310,  311,  312 


o  T  ^ 


Fennings,  i.e.  Nugent,  271 

Ferdinand,  Prince,  226 

Fielding's  (Sir  John)  men,  142 ;  Jus- 
tice, 323 

Finch,  Lady  Charlotte,  [letter] 
256-7 

Fingall,  Peter,  fourth  Earl  of,  8 

Lord,  278 

Firebran,  Sir  Cordel,  204 

Fleet,  the,  343 

Marriages,  48,  49,  5 1 

Fobbing,  living  of,  224,  225 

Forster,  Mr.,  22 

Fox,  Henry,  first  Lord  Holland,  49, 
50,  80,  [six  letters]  258-61 


INDEX 


347 


Fox,  Charles  James,  Sy,  92,  95 
Franklin,  Benjamin,  75,  76 

William,  75,  76 

Frederick,  H .  R.  H.  Prince  of  Wales, 

15,  16,  24,  so,  32,  35,  36,  37,  41, 

93,  232  ;  funeral,  230 
H.R.H.  Duke  of  York,  [three 

letters]  285-6,  288 

Garrick,  Uavid,  51 

Gee,  Joshua,  80 

George  I.,  King,  247 

II.,  Kmg,  15-16,23,24,  31,32, 


III.,  King  (when  11  years  old), 


16,  24,  32 

Inn,  Haymarket,  322 


Gibbon,  Edward,  99 

Glastonbury,  Lord,  95 

Gloucester,  H.R.H.  Duke  of,  199 

Glover,  28 

Glynn,  Sergeant,  78 

Goldsmith,  Oliver,  20,  21,  22,  23,  28, 

lOI 

Goodwood,  258 

Gordon,  Duchess  of,  25 

Gorkhas,  the,  283 

Gosfield  Hall,  Essex,  10,  lo-ii,  14, 
15,  20,  23,  147,  252,  268 

Church,  12 

Gosford,  Arthur,  first  Earl ;  letter 
to  Sir  G.  Nugent,  281-2 

Granville,  John  Earl,  92,  162,  201, 
213,  214 

Earl,  288 

Mrs.  Anne,  afteriuards  Delany, 

10 

Gray,  Thomas,  v,  99,  145 

Grafs  Inn  Journal,  99 

Grenville,  Rt.  Hon.  George,  34,  35, 
70,  72,  74,  [two  letters]  249 

George  {afteriuards  first  Mar- 
quis of  Buckingham),  24,  81 

Rt.  Hon.  James,  73 

James    (Lord     Glastonbury), 


95 


J-,  27 

R;,  27 

Richard,  35 

W.   W.,  26,  afterwards  Lord 

Grenville,  250 
Grey,  Sir  Charles,  311 
Grosvenor,  Countess,  22 
Guadaloupe,  taking  of,  311-13 
Gunning,  Miss,  49 


Halifax,  G.  Dunk.  Earl  of,  [letter] 
229-30 

Hamilton,  Duke  of,  49 

Hammond,  Mr.,  243 

Hanoveriaji  Forces,  pamphlet,  33 

Hardman,  John,  [letter]  263 

Hardwicke,  Philip,  Lord  Chancel- 
lor, 42,  47,  49,  50,  [letters,  241-2, 
265] 

Harley,  Earl  of  Oxford,  30 

Mr.,  94 

Hastings,  Warren,  [two  letters] 
279-80,  287 

Mrs.,  279 

Hat,  insult  to  Lord  Cobham's,  17- 
19,  198 

Haicnch   of  Veniso7t,   Goldsmith's, 

lOI 

Hawkins,  Sir  John,  20 

Hayter,  Dr.     See  Norwich,  Bp. 

Henley,  Sir  Robert,  'JS 

Herbert,  Mr.,  253 

Hervey,  John  Lord,  17,  198,  [letter] 
251' 

Captain,  16 

History  of  England  in  the  Eigh- 
teenth Centmy,  Mr.  Lecky's,  49, 
82 

Honduras,  naval  action  at  capture 
of  Omoa,  294-308 

Honeywood,  ^Ir.,  223 

Hood,  Admiral  Lord,  95 

House  of  Commons,  Nestor  of,  6 

its  honour  and  dignity,  87 

House  of  Lords,  1741,  247 

Howth,  Christopher  St.  Lawrence, 
Lord,  3 

Hudson's  Bay  Company,  66 

Hunt,  George,  M.P.,  265 

India  Bill,  Fox's,  92 

[1814],  283,  285 

Inoculation,  258 

Interests  of  Great  Britain,  H.  Wal- 

pole's,  34 
Ipswich,  Red  House,  272 
Ireland[i  8 19],  Commander-in-chief, 

and  Commerce.     See  \  erses 

to  the  Queen,  138-140,  143 

Council  of,  [1522]  I 

Nugent,     Vice-Treasurer    of. 


72 


Rebellion  of  1798,  [letter  of  Sir 
G.  Nugent]  273-6 


348 


INDEX 


Irish  bogs,  possible  improvement, 

222 

lean  cattle,  221-3 

Commercial  Code,  82-3,  84-5 

distress  in  1778,  82 

fisheries  in  1775,  82 

La?iguage,  Nugent's    Primer 

of  the ^  2 

linen  bounties,  266-7 

Stuffs  Nugent's,  10 1 

Iron,  bar,  from  America,  69 

Jenkinson,  afterwards  Earl  of  Liver- 
pool, 84 

Jenkyns,  Soames,  75 

Jews'  Naturalization  Bill,  1753,  42 

Johnson,  Sir  William,  75 

Jones,  i.e.  Nugent,  George  and 
Edmund,  271 

Keith,  Rev.  Alex.,  48,  57 
Kent,    H.R.H.   Edward,  Duke   of, 
312 

the  architect,  152 

Kilkenny,  articles  of,  4 
Kingston,  Duke  of,  49 
Knight,  John,  M.P.,  10,  12 

Mrs.,  10.     See  Craggs,  Anne 

Knox,  of  Bristol,  217,  220 

Lake,   General   Lord,   173,  [letter] 

277,  284 
Lecky's,  Mr.,  History^^g,  82 
Lee,  Dr.,  36,  40,  41 
Le  Geyt,  260 
Legge,  Mr.,  73,  74 
Legonier,  Sir  John,  210 
Leicester  House,  16,  24,  93,  225 
Lennox,  Lady  Caroline,  50 
Levant,  the,  66 

Leveson-Gower,  Hon.  Richard,  19 
Liskard,  62 

Liverpool,  Earl,  [letter]  284-5 
Lonsdale,  Ode  to  Lord,  178-9 
Lymington,  Lady,  25 
Lynch,  Father,  8,  316,  317 
Lyttleton,  Sir  George,  212 

M'Aulay,  Mr.,  234,  237 
MacGuire,  Colonel,  324 
McNamara,  Mr.,  26 
Madan,  Dr.,  92 
Magistrates,  172 
Mallet,  David,  27,  99 
Malloy,  Mr.,  240 


Manners,  Lord,  278 
Mansfield,  Lord,  jZ 
Marchmont,  Lord,  Ode  to,  236 
Marlborough,  Charles,  second  Duke 

of,  [letter]  240 
Marriage  Bill^  241 
Marriage    Act,  passing   of,  49-62, 

64,  84,  92,  271 
Marriages,  clandestine,  48-9 
Marshalsea,  Southwark,  200 
Martinico,  taking  of,  310-11 
Matthews,  Admiral,  34-5 
May,    Sir    Erskine,    Co7istiHitio7ial 

History^  82 
Maynard,  Sir  William,  223 
Mercer,  Captain  Luke,  70 
Middlesex,  Lord,  38,  39,  198 

Lady,  39,  40 

Middleton,  Dr.,  251 
Minorca,  210,  212,  215 

Moira,  General  the  Earl  of,  273, 
275,  276  ;  House  of,  274;  [letter] 
283-4 

Monarchy,  168-9 

Mongarret  and  Trimlestoun,  Lord, 
231 

Montaigne,  243 

Mordaunt,  Lieut.-Genl.,  254 

Murphy,  Arthur,  99 

Murray's  in  Lincolns  Inn  Fields,  236 

Murray,  solicitor-general,  35 

Nation — what  most  blest,  163-5 
Naturalization  Bill,  232 
Newcastle,'-Thomas  Duke  of,  31,  34, 

62,  72,  73,  86,  207 ;  [letters]  202, 

202-3,  209-10 

Duchess  of,  261 

Neiv  Foiindli?ig  Hospital  for  Wit, 

lOI 

Newsham,  James,  62 

John,  10 

junior^  197,  264 

Norfolk,   Duchess  of  ninth  Duke, 

[letter]  231 
North,  Lord,  83,  84,  86, 
Northumberland,  Earl  (/<2/^rDuke), 

20,  21 
Norwich,  Bishop  of,  42 
Nova  Scotia,  229 
Nugent,  Mrs.  Anne,  ;?<?.?  Craggs,  13 

14,  15,   16,  25,  197,  203,  236,  239, 
Adml.  of  the  Fleet,  Sir  Charles 

Edmund,     8,     [letter]     288-9  ; 

memoir,  290-315 


INDEX 


349 


Nugent,  Sir  Christopher,  fourteenth 

Lord  Delvin,  2,  3 

Christopher  of  Donore,  6 

Miss  Clare,  7,  8,9;  afterwards 

Mrs.  O'Byrne,  318 

Lieut.-Col.  Edmund,  8,  13,  16, 


18,  26,  49,  62,  68,  271-2,  326-7 

—  Sir     Edmund,    Bt.,   of  West 
Harling,  197 

—  Mrs.  Elizabeth,  nee  Drax,  16, 

—  Miss  Elizabeth,  16,  271,  286 
Field-Marshal  Sir  George,  Bt., 


8,  26  ;    memoir,  272-289,  [letter 
re  Irish  Rebellion]  273-6 

—  John,  231,  259,  260 

—  John,  fifth  Earl  of  Westmeath,  5 
Miss     Louisa,    daughter     of 


Earl  Nugent,  16 

—  Miss  Louisa,  daughter  of  Sir 
G.  Nugent,  288 

—  Miss  Margaret,  Earl  Nugent's 
sister,  13,  16 

Mary,^/^rz£/<^rrt'j'Grenville,  16, 


22,  24,  26,  81 

—  Colonel  Michael,  6,  317 

—  Sir  Nicolas,  2,  4 

—  Richard     the     twelvth    Lord 
Delvin,  1-2 

—  Richard,  Earl  of  Westmeath,  4 

—  Richard,  second  Earl  of  West- 
meath, 4 

Richard,  third  Earl  of  West- 


meath, 3 
—  Richard,  2 

Robert,     Earl,    lineage. 


noble  descent,  6  ;  Clare  Nugent 
intrigue,  7  ;  their  natural  son,  8  ; 
marries  Lady  Emilia  Plunkett,  8 ; 
her  early  death,  ib. ;  offers  Clare 
reparation,  9  ;  his  second  mar- 
riage, 9 ;  wife's  health  and  person, 
10  ;  takes  prefix  of  Craggs,  ib.\  ill 
match,  13  ;  wife's  death,  14 ;  social 
position,  15;  early  joins  exalted 
society,  15  ;  third  marriage,  16  ; 
his  daughters,  z"<^. ;  frolic  with  Lord 
Bristol's  hat,  17-19,  198  ;  public 
apology,  18  ;  his  jests,  19,  25  ; 
friend  of  Oliver  Goldsmith,  20- 


-ij  ,     created  an   Irish  earl,  24  ; 


T3 


offices  and  dignities,  25  ;  gout, 
25  ;  death,  26,  95  ;  will  and 
estates,  26-7  ;  character,  27  ; 
person,  28,  318  ;  morality,  28-9  ; 
elected    for    St.     Mawe's,     31  ; 


Nugent,  Robert,  Earl  {co7itinued) 
intimacy  with  Frederick  Prince 
of  Wales,  32,  35,  37,  40,  41  ; 
Parliamentary  speeches,  33,  34, 
35,  37, 40,  41  ;  on  Jews,  Naturaliz- 
ation, 42-6,  62  ;  on  Marriage  Bill, 
51-62  ;  a  Lord  of  the  Treasury, 
62,  72  ;  elected  for  Bristol,  62-5  ; 
Duke  of  Newcastle's  congratula- 
tions, 202-3  ;  authority  on  trade 
and  navigation,  67  ;  rejected  at 
Bristol,  71  ;  re-elected,  72  ;  Vice- 
Treasurer  Ireland,  72  ;  First  Com- 
missioner for  Trade  and  Planta- 
tions, 74  ;  created  an  Irish  peer 
(Viscount  Clare  and  Baron  Nu- 
gent),'74,8i ;  dines  with  Franklin, 
76  ;  parliamentar}'  speeches  1770 
to  1774,77-79  ;  rejected  at  Bristol, 
79  ;  place-sei-ving  speeches,  81  ; 
on  Irish  trade  restraints,  83,  84- 
5  ;  Militia  speech,  84  ;  on  Ireland 
84-5;  ondignityof  House  of  Com- 
mons, 87  ;  for  amity  between  Fox 
and  Pitt,  92-5  ;  Nestor  of  the 
House,  95  ;  poetical  talents,  99- 
loi  ;  Poems,  98-191  ;  An  Epistle 
to,  192-4 ;  bashfulness,  197  ; 
indifferent  speaker,  197  ;  rebuff 
from  H.R.H  Duke  of  Gloucester, 
199  ;  indisposed,  216,  220  :  gout, 
225  ;  invitation  to  funeral  of  Fred- 
erick Prince  of  Wales,  230  ;  loans, 
232  ;  criticized  by  A.  Pope,  236  ; 
Pope  correspondence,  235-9  \  in- 
vited to  Goodwood,  258;  asks 
governorship  of  St.  Mawe's  Castle 
for  son,  264;  President  of  Board 
of  Trade,  266  ;  interview  with 
natural  son  Robert,  318-320. 

Letters  : — 
To  Duke  of  Newcastle.  For 
release  of  French  prisoner,  200- 
I  ;  congratulations,  201  ;  seeks 
promotion  for  Rev.  Tucker, 
203  ;  invitation  to  Bristol 
Union  Club,  204  ;  party  whip, 
204-5  ;  riote  with  draft  letter, 
206  ;  how  Union  Club  received 
letter,  208-9  ;  Bristol — Tucker 
— Egmont,  211  ;  Bristol  politics 
— Tucker,  212  ;  Byng  court- 
martial,  213  ;  Lord  Egmont, 
215  ;  Egmont — Tucker,  216; 
Bristol    address — Byng,    217  ; 


350 


INDEX 


Nugent :  Letters  {cojitiiiued) 

Bristol  politics,  217-19  ;  inter- 
est of  Knox,  220  ;  asks  Deanery 
for  Dr.  Tucker,  220-1  ;  Irish 
cattle,  221-3  ;  Essex  election- 
eering, 223  ;  Lord  Berkeley, 
224  ;  elected  for  Bristol,  224  ; 
Fobbing  living,  224  ;  gout,  225  ; 
to  visit  Spa  and  kiss  hands. 
Interest  for  son — Spa  folk,  226  ; 
favours  for  Cornish  friend, 
226-7  ;  will  attend  at  Cockpit, 
227  ;  opinion  on  a  clause,  227  ; 
on  retirement,  228  ;  Nugent's 
retirement,  228. 

To  H.  Dampier,  Mayor  of  Bristol, 
attachment  to  city,  214 

To    Union    Committee,    Bristol, 
Minorca,  24-5 

To     Mr.     (Sir    Jarrett)     Smith, 
Bristol  politics,  218 

To  Mrs.  Whiteway,  Pope's  letters 
— Bindon's  Swift,  235 

To  Rev.  J.  Erskine,  229 

To  Mr.  Grenville,  265-6  ;  seeks 
place  for  son — politicians,  265 

To  Mr.  Grenville.    Accepted  Pre- 
sidency of  Board  of  Trade,  266 

To  Marquis  of  Tovvnshend.    Irish 
Linen,  266-7 

To    John     Osborne.     Projected 
Irish  trip,  267-8 
Poems  : — 

Faith — Address  to  the  Publisher, 
115;  Argument,  116;  the  poem, 

117-133 
Verses  to  the  Queen  with  Gift  of 

Irish  Manufacture,  137 
Verses  with  a  gift  of  Irish  Pota- 
toes, 141-44 
The  Genius  of  Ireland^  145-9 
Epistle  to  Mr.  Pope.,  1 50-1 
Epistle  to  Pol  Ho  from  the  Hills 

of  Howthin  Ireland,  151-3 
A?t  Epistle.,  153-61 

to  Lord  Viscount  Cornbury, 

161-173 

to  a  Lady,  173-8 


Inscription  o?i   the    Tomb  of  his 

Ajicestors,  190 
Odes  : — 
Birthday.    To  Frederick,  Prince 

of  Wales,  1739,  102-3 
To  Mankind.^  with  Introduction, 

104-10 


Nugent  :  Odes  {continued) 

To  William  Piiltcney.,  110-12- 

To  Lord  Lonsdale.,  1 78-9 

An  Ode.,  180-1 

Ode.,  182-3 

Verses  to  Camilla,  1 83-4 

to  Corinna,  185 

Epigrams.,  185-8 

Elegy.,  An.,  189 

To  the  Memory  of  Viscountess 
To'djnsend.,  190-1 
Nugent,    Robert,  son   of  Clare,  8. 

Memoir,  316-44 

Sir  Thomas,  Kt.,  2 

Thomas,    Lord   Chief  Justice 

(Lord  Riverston),  4-5 
Thomas,  fourth  Earl  of  West- 


meath,  5 

—  Sir  William,  i 

—  William,  3 

—  Lieutenant,  259 
letter  of,  277 


"  Nugentize,"  v,  •rj%  "iTi 

O'Byrne,  Mr.,  9 

Mrs.,  318 

Ode  to  William  P2ilte?tey^  Nugent's, 

vii,  14,  20,  27,  99 
O'Donnel,  Major,  26 
O'Donnell,  Elizabeth,  271 
Official  papers,  the  King  and,  81 
Ordinance,  treasurer  of  the,  255 
Orford,  Lord,  256 
Orrery,  Lord,  233,  235,  237 
Osborne,  John,  267-8 
Mr.,  287 

Padget,  Lieutenant,  260 
Palliser,  Sir  Hugh,  83,  87 
Palmer,  General,  287 
Parker,  Admiral  Sir  Peter,  290,  291 
Parliamentary  elections,  peers  and, 

85-6 
"  Patriots."     See  "  Country  Party  " 
Peers  and  elections,  86 
Pelham,  Rt.  Hon.  Henry,  31,  34,  41, 

62,  92,  [letters]  252-6 

Lady  Catherine,  19 

Pepperels,  Sir  Wm.,  260 

Percy,  Bishop,  20,  21 

Pester,  Captain,  284 

Philipps,  Sir  John,  63,  65,  202,  203 

Pitt,  Earl  of  Chatham,  72,  7^,,  74,  83, 

86,  93,  [three  letters]  232-3 
the    younger,    W^m.,   maiden 

speech,  88-91 


INDEX 


351 


Pitt,  Rowland,  330 

Place  Bill,  197 

Pleasure,    Lord    Chesterfield     on, 

244-5 
Plumptree,   Treasurer  of  the  Ord- 
nance, 254 
Plunkett,    Lady    Emilia,    8,    271  ; 

aftenuards  Nugent,  326 
Poems.     See  Nugent,  350 
Pole,  Mr.  Charles,  263 
Politics  in  1741,  30-1 
Pope,  Alexander,  9,  12,  14, 181, 182, 

233,  234,  235,  [five  letters]  235-9 
Potter,  Mr.,  230 

Thomas,  [two  letters]  262,  263 

Pownall,  Mr.,  Secretary' to  the  Board 

of  Trade,  233 
Prouse,  Mr.  T.,  265 
Public  good,  the,  246 
Pulteney,  \Vm.,  Earl  of  Bath,  32,  73, 

74,  9+5  99,  198  ;  Ode  to,  1 10-12, 

[letters]  229 
Putney,  250 

Queensberry,  Charles,  third  Duke, 

[letter]  239-40 
Quin,  Mr.,  16 

Ranelagh,  205 

Richards,  Major- General,  12 

Rev.  Mr.,  200 

Richmond,  second  Duke,  [two  let- 
ters] 258 

third  Duke,  309 

Robinson,  Sir  Thomas,  217 
Rockingham,  Lord,  74 

Sackville,  Lord  George,  27 
St.  Albans,  Duke  of,  233 
St.  Ive,  200 

St.  Mawe's,  15,  26,  30,  31,  62,  95, 
203,  276,  309 

Castle,  264 

Sandwich,  Lord,  198 

Santlow,Mi5s(Mrs.BartonBooth)ji3 

Saratoga  Convention,  83 

Savile,  Sir  George,  87 

Saville  House,  225 

Savoy  privileges,  51 

Seeker,  Dr.,  Bishop  of  Oxford,  32 

Shannon,  Lady,  198 

She  stoops  to  conquer^  Goldsmith's, 22 

Shelburne,  Lord,  75 

Shirley,  Colonel,  259 

Sidmouth,  Lord,  [letter]  2S4 


Sidney,  Sir  Henry,  2 

Skinner,  Maria,  276 

Sloane,  Sir  Hans,  62 

Smith,  Sir  Jarrett,  68,  218 

Smollett's  History^  36-7,  73 

Snow,  Mr.,  243 

Somerset,  Lord  Charles,  282 

Southampton  election,  85-6 

South  Sea  Company,  9-10 

Southwell,  Margaret,  first  Viscount- 
ess, [letters]  261-2 

Spa,  226,  244,  246 

Spencer,  Mr.,  afterwards  John  first 
Viscount,  68,  213,  214,  216 

Stainsbury's  case,  205,  207 

Stanhope,  Sir  William,  220 

Stannary^  Court,  36 

"  State  tinkers,"  90 

Stewart,  Lieut.-Col.  of  33rd  Regt., 

Stone,  Mr.,  200 

Stowe,  181,  182,  186 

Strange,  Lord,  265 

Sturt, — ALP.  for  Dorset,  265 

Swift,  Dean,  192-4,  234,  237,  243 

Mr.,  235,  237 

Taylor,  C.  H.,  [letter]  282 

Temple,  Sir  William,  205 

Richard,  first  Earl,  17,  23-4,' 

25,  28,  73,  74,  198-9 

Thames,  the,  182,  242 

Thanet,  Lady,  253 

Tomline,  Bishop,  91 

Townshend,  Thomas,  83,  84,  85 

Charlotte,  Viscountess,  190-1 

Traveller^  Goldsmith's,  20 

Trenton,  267 

Tucker,  Dean,  v,  vi,  65,  203,  210, 
211,  212,  216,  217,  218,  220-1 

Review  of  Lord  Clare's  Con- 
duct^ 65,  66 

Tunbridge,  243 

Tweeddale,  Marquis  of,  13 

Unnatural  Father  and  the  Perse- 
cuted Son,  the,  344 

Vaughan,  Dr.  (ALD.),  229 
Vernon,  Elizabeth,  49,    271,  after- 
wards Countess  Dupont. 
Volunteers,  Royal,  226 
Vyner,  Mr.,  83 

Wall,  Ambassador-Extraordinary, 
253 


352 


INDEX 


Waller,  Mr.,  33 

Walpole,  Horace,  first  Baron  Wal 
pole,  81,  [four  letters]  250-1 

Horace,    11,    13,    19,   25, 

33,  99,  197 

Sir     Robert,     15, 


27, 


81,  94,  loi,  246-7,  248 
Mr.  Thomas,  75 


50-1,    32, 


Warburton,  Dr.,  210 
Webb,  Mr.,  207 
Wedderburn,  Mr.,  -]-] 
Welch,  John,  [letter]  264 
Wellington,      Field- Marshal,     the 

Duke  of,  288,  [letters]  280,  287 
Wentworth,  Sir  John,  12 
Westmeath,    fourth   Earl   of,  [two 

letters]  231-2 
Westminster  election,  95 


White's  Club  Room,  18 
Whiteway,  Mrs.,  [letters]  233,  235, 

237 
Whitmore,  Colonel,  259 
Wilkes,  83,  86,  267 
Wilkinson,  Rev.,  51 
Willes,    Chief   Justice    J.,    [letter] 

230 
Wingfield,  Sir  Richard,  3 
Wlnnington,  198 
Woman,  domestic  advice  to,  174 
Wraxall,  Sir  Nathaniel,  16,  19,  23, 

24,  25,  27,  28 
Wray,  Sir  Cecil,  95 
Wreckers,  71 
Wyndham,  Wm.,  162,  [letter]  261 

Yorke,  Hon.  Charles,  241  note 


THE    END. 


Richard  Clay  &"  Sons,  Limited,  London  &=■  Bungay . 


DATE    DUE 

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